Beautiful Sunsets are Made from the Darkest Clouds
by kazukomichiko7789
Summary: When Charles and Erik act on their feelings the night before Cuba, Erik will have to decide between his revenge and the man he loves. Charles will face consequences he never though possible and misfortune threatens to destroy their delicate peace.
1. Promises

Another loud crackle from the fireplace pulled Charles' attention from the game of chess at hand back to the creeping unease of the irony in the room brought on by the fact that the lovely warmth of the fire could do nothing to change the unsettling cool tension that had been settling in over the players since earlier that evening. With a solomn sigh, Charles made his move and spoke up.

"Cuba," he began somewhat hesitantly, letting Erik know which direction this conversation was taking without looking up from the board. He could not yet bring himself to meet the same gaze that Erik always wore when they discussed the upcoming trials that they knew were coming. "Russia. America. It makes no difference. Shaw has declared war on mankind, on all of us." Another pause before reaching his point then Charles finished, "He has to be stopped."

"I'm not going to stop Shaw," Erik began, his tone practically coated in a layer of obviousness that Charles didn't need to see to pick up. Nonetheless, he tore his gaze away from the chessboard to meet Erik's piercing eyes, knowing that this wasn't something that Erik wanted him hiding from. "I'm going to kill him." When Charles made no movements or sounds to respond to the claim, he continued. "Do you have it in you to allow that?" His voice sounded sincere enough in the question.

Shifting his position and drawing his hands together with his chin resting atop them, he tried to choose his next words carefully. Regardless of the sincerity, Erik knew full well that Charles had no desire for him to kill the man he had been hunting for nearly twenty years. And, in turn, Charles knew very well what it meant to Erik to be able to do this. Still, Charles had little doubt that Erik accomplishing his life-long goal would do nothing for him other than to put him in a place that Charles may not be able to recover him from. That thought, in and of itself, was unbearable, moreso than the threat of nuclear war or the distain for the idea if killing a man.

After everything that the pair had been through together, from the ocean to the road trips to the training in the grounds only earlier that day, Charles couldn't bare the thought of Erik being beyond his grasp, in more ways than one.

Before Charles could think any longer on that matter, Erik spoke again."You've known all along why I was here Charles." This was a true statement. Charles knew full well that it had always been Erik's intention to use this mission as an means to the end he was seeking. Still, Charles could hardly help but to hope that, in light of recent events, his friend's priorities may have resorted themselves. "But things he changed. What started as a cover mission, tomorrow, mankind will know that mutants exist. Shaw, us, they won't differentiate," Erik paused, letting the implication of this assertion sink into Charles' head. "They'll fear us. And that fear will turn to hatred," Erik finished, sounding so sure in his predictions of human prejudice.

It was a possibility, of course, that the humans would fear what they did not yet understand, but surely the final outcome could be a averted if the humans could only be made to see reason. Once they realized that they were all on the same side of wanting to live in peace, they certainly couldn't hate them, not after what would happen in Cuba.

"Not if we stop a war," he started to insist, hoping to bring Erik to see the same reason he wished the humans would understand. "Not if we prevent Shaw. Not if we risk our lives doing so," Charles maintained. After all, wasn't that what the humans had been looking up to for the last several decades? Soldiers who would put themselves on the line to protect them. That's what they were planning to do and what difference should it make that they had a little something different in their DNA. Mutation hadn't been something that they had asked for and discrimination against something that one had been born with was a matter that the world was trying to escape. Hitler had promoted the slaughter of people because they had not been born as he felt they should and most humans opposed that so why should this be any different.

"Would they do the same for us?" Erik's voice sounded again. That was where the doubt that Charles did not want to face lied. Surely, the humans would risk themselves to protect the world, even if it was a world different than them. It shouldn't be any stretch for humans to protect mutants if mutants would be there to protect the humans in return. Even if they weren't willing, they couldn't make that the issue at hand. Protecting the humans just for the good of protecting innocents should be reason enough.

"We have it in us to be the better men," Charles pushed, trying desperately to convey his point to Erik.

"We already are," the other cut in before Charles could further that point and Charles knew where this was leading before Erik continued. "We are the next stage in human evolution. You said it yourself!" Erik exclaimed before Charles could silence him with a stern 'no' because Erik knew very well that that was not what Charles meant by his own words. "Are you really so naive," the metal-bender continued anyways, seemingly unfazed by Charles' apprehension at this conversation. "As to think that they won't battle their own extinction."

He wouldn't take the bait. He couldn't. Charles had been called naive most of his life by people that knew nothing about him and he didn't mind keeping it that way.

"Or is it arrogance?"

That, on the other hand, did get a small rise.

"I'm sorry?" Charles asked somewhat testily.

Erik didn't repeat the goad before moving on. "Tomorrow, they're going to turn on us but you're blind to see it, because you believe they're all like Moira." Another taunt that Charles could resist.

"And you believe they're all like Shaw," the telepath deflected easily, no needing to use his abilities to know from Erik's expression that the latter didn't have any immediate response to that so Charles continued without one. "Listen to me very carefully, my friend," he started, looking at Erik imploringly. "Killing Shaw will not bring you peace," he insisted quietly. Erik needed to understand this.

With a brief pause that Charles knew was not of hesitation, Erik stared fervently in the telepath's direction. "Peace was never an option."

Feeling something inside himself break slightly, Charles dropped his gaze back to the chessboard to make his next move. With a deep sigh and a sip of the scotch that had been left forgotten in the last few moments, he turned over the last words that his friend had said in his head. _Never an option._ It stung. They had worked together on so much. Did Erik really mean to say that absolutely nothing had changed from the night that Charles had pulled him out of the waters in Miami? Did he still intend to leave just as resolutely as he had at the CIA base? Charles had never had the privilege of having many friends in his life, Raven had not been lying in her claim that she was his only friend, but he knew that true friendship meant more to people that this.

Glancing back up slightly, Charles spoke softly. "I know that peace has never been an option in the past, my friend, but things change," he said before pulling his eyes all the way back up to meet Erik's gaze. "Is there no way that peace can become an option for you? Can this place, this home that we're creating, be something of a peaceful place?…Can't you be at peace with me?" he expressed, throwing caution to the wind as he forced himself to keep eye contact.

When Erik didn't answer, Charles set his tumbler down on the table. "We can finish our game tomorrow night. We should turn in for the night," he said curtly as he stood from his armchair. Walking toward the door, Charles turned back with a yearning expression and sent a brief wave of concerned affection coupled with want before brushing past the doorway, leaving Erik gaping at the door once it shut.

As the door closed definitively, Erik didn't know what exactly he was supposed to do from that point. He was admittedly shocked by the wave of emotion that had crashed over him when Charles turn to face him one last time for the night. Even though he was very aware of the fact that the telepath was worried about his friend and that he harbored an fondness that had been growing stronger these past few months, he had never imagined that it would reach a state of want.

For the first few seconds following Charles' departure, Erik had thought that he had perhaps imagined that particular feeling but he couldn't kid himself; Charles was nothing if not honest. Most of the time, the guy wore his heart on his sleeve to the point that he was practically transparent. He wouldn't allow himself to send any emotions over anyone's way that may be confused for anything other than platonic unless that was the true intention.

Charles Xavier wanted Erik Lehnsherr; that much was clear.

What was less discernible was what Erik was going to do about it. If he was already being honest with himself about the current situation, he wouldn't bother trying to convince himself that he felt anything other than pure adoration for the telepath in every sense of the meaning. That was where the real problem lied. It was that adoration that was constantly turning itself into an encompassing protectiveness for the younger man.

Erik was not blind to the fact that he came off as a bit harsh, especially after his last conversation, but it was certainly not out of a feeling of contempt for Charles, quite the opposite. He merely wanted the latter to grasp the concept that humans were not going to take their little revelation well tomorrow; not all of them could be like Moira, as they had already seen repeatedly back at the CIA compounds. Even she was in a position where she needed their little band of 'freaks,' as most other humans who had been privy to the existence of mutations had taken to called these mutants; who knew where her loyalties would lie once her life and her job no longer hung in the balance.

The only other clear aspect of the matter right now was that, want or no want that the telepath may be harboring, Charles did not seem to have any desire to see Erik again for the night. He had told Erik to go to bed and that really was starting to appear to be the most appealing option at the moment.

Tossing back the last sip of scotch that was left in his tumbler, Erik rose from his seat that was somehow much less comfortable now that Charles was no longer in the room. After putting out the fire that was starting to die, he crossed the room and left without a second glance back.

The want that Charles had pushed Erik's way was starting to drive the metal-bender mad, pulsing in his ears. He wanted nothing more than to get to his own room and loose himself in much needed sleep, if sleep decided not to evade him.

Well, Erik knew that that wasn't quite true. What he really wanted nothing more than was to abandon his foolish pride, as he knew Charles though of it, and seek out the telepath. He wanted to show him that his affections were not one-sided, that the want he so strongly, albeit briefly, projected was mutual. However, if wasn't just Erik's pride that was keeping him from following through with both of their desires; as much as Erik abhorred the though of even admitting it to himself, there was also a certain aspect of fear.

Erik had spent nearly the last two decades without being emotionally, or really even physically, close to anyone. The idea that there was a man out there that could make Erik consider turning his back on his single goal in life was terrifying. He never wanted anyone to have that sort of power over him. And yet, he found himself more than willing to hand over this power to Charles. Still, he knew that this would definitely be one of those set-in-stone-either-or decisions. He couldn't have both Charles and his aims for revenge. Both options were single-destination paths that did not cross and he would not be able to turn away from either. If he choose to be with Charles, there would be no going back.

Picking up his pace in the last stretch of hallway, Erik reached the door to his room and pushed it open quickly to reveal a blonde-haired teenager laying across his bed under the sheets.

"Well," he started as he shut the door. "This is a surprise."

"The nice kind?" Raven asked, her voice betraying the small hint of anxiety.

Not feeling like answering that particular question, or to Charles later if he were to answer that, Erik deflected Raven's inquisition bluntly. "Got out, Raven. I want to go to bed," he said as he crossed to room to fiddle with objects on the dresser. "Maybe in a few years," he added, pointedly not looking in the direction of where his best friend's sister lay naked under a few thin sheets.

That is, he managed to keep his eyes diverted until he heard a soft ripple and a new voice speak. "How 'bout now?"

"I prefer the real Raven," Erik rebutted after a moment of slightly stunned hesitation. It still appalled Erik the extent to which Raven seemed to go to please everyone else when it came to her appearance. After another ripple lead back to the blonde form, it was clear that the girl hadn't understood the intention. "I said the _real_ Raven," he repeated with a little extra emphases.

A third and final, much slower, ripple that left beautiful azure ridges and scales in its wake let Erik know that his point had been made. "Perfection," Erik said softly, keeping Raven's gaze as long as he could, only breaking the eye contact when Raven turned her gaze downward.

"Could you pass me my robe," came a broken voice from the bed. Looking down, Erik saw the white robe that had been abandoned on the chair. Staring at it for a moment, he turned his attention back to Raven.

"You don't have to hide," he told her somewhat incredulously, but still with soft caution. Stepping over to the bed, Erik sat down across from Raven, the movement drawing Raven's eyes back to himself as she stared at him expectantly. "Have you ever looked at a tiger and thought you ought to cover it up?" he asked her.

She looked away sheepishly. "No, but..."

"You're an exquisite creature, Raven," he continued on, seeing her stall. "All your life, the world has tried to tame you," he insisted, knowing even before he carried on where this was leading. He felt a twinge of guilt when he thought back about Charles, well aware of how disapproving the telepath would be if he could see what was going on. Still, Erik pushed forward. "It's time for you to be free," he finished as he leaned in to rest a hand on Raven's neck and his lips on hers.

As he did so, he could feel another pang of guilt sweep throughout him, coupled with the overpowering want that Charles had left behind. The latter feeling was intensified by the sleek feel of Raven's lips and the rough patterns that decorated her jawline under Erik's hand.

Despite all of the swirling and contradicting feelings that were swimming in his mind, the want and guilt and remorse and fear and, above all, the longing for someone who wasn't Raven, one thing remained consistent as Erik pulled back from the surprisingly chaste kiss: nothing had changed between the pair. Even with everything blowing in a maelstrom, it was still just as clear to Erik that this was the little sister of his best friend, not a lover.

This was the little sister of the man he realized he couldn't get out of his head.

With a solemn look to Raven, Erik dropped his hand and pushed himself a handful of inches back on the bed. "I think it's about time for you to leave now," he told her as carefully as he could; it was certainly not his intention to hurt the girl's feelings, and certainly not after what he had just allowed himself to do. Still, Erik needed this time to think things over and, honestly, the children really should be in bed by this hour.

Regardless of Erik's tact, or possibly there-lack-of, Raven still had a wounded look on her face as she pulled back the sheets and stood. She moved toward the door whiteout going to get her robe. As she walked out, though she turned back with a expression of gratefulness that was playing over the pain. "Thank you, Erik. You've done a lot for me," she said then turned away to cross through the door's threshold.

Throwing a glance back down at the bed below him, with its soft and expensive pillows calling him, Erik stood from the mattress and took his own leave as well. He didn't know if Raven had truly gone to bed as Erik had hoped she would but he could hardly hold that against the girl. After all, here was the metal-bender, out and about late in the night, taking the few measly steps though the hall to reach the bedroom that Charles had picked out for himself a week ago.

With a deep breath to prepare himself, he knocked on the door.

As Charles left Erik and their chess game behind in the study, his full intention was to go back to his room and go to bed. He was not going to seek out Erik Lehnsherr again, or anyone else for that matter. If that maddening man decided to take the initiative upon himself, then so be it. Charles hated leaving things as they were between them but he had already made enough of a fool of himself. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't keep his mind open to prepare himself on the off chance that Erik did choose to pay the telepath a visit.

Following Erik's presence in a manner that would allow himself to see where the metal-bender without being noticed or prying where he wasn't wanted, he was just as surprised as Erik apparently was to find Raven in the bedroom, if not more so.

Pulling out of Erik's mind and letting the two have the privacy that he knew full well they would ask of him. Charles took a shuddering breath at the reality of the situation dawned on him, making him feel even more mortified at his earlier actions in the study than he already had.

Erik liked Raven.

Charles had worn his thrown his heart out to the one man he knew he shouldn't get involved with, by all rights other than intuition. He had practically confessed his love with the stunt he had pulled, whether Erik saw it that way or not, and all of it was to be for nothing. Well, nothing other than a possible laugh between Erik and Raven at his own expense. Charles had fallen for the man that liked his sister.

What a joke.

Well, it had been a good week and, in light of recent events, Charles felt like he deserved a chance to wallow in his self-pity for a night. With a sigh, he pushed himself off from his bed that he had been sitting on and started making his way to the kitchen downstairs. He dragged his feet as he made his way though the lonely halls of the mansion, his energy nearly completely drained, leaving him emotionally and physically exhausted. The only thing that he could bring himself to do right now was to fetch the bottle of aged wine that he knew was waiting for him in the fridge.

He was so distracted in his own thoughts as he pulled to bottle out that he hadn't noticed the soft footsteps moving across the carpet toward the room. He was only pulled from his reverie with a familiar voice.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if you hadn't found me here that night."

"I'm sorry. What?" You…" Charles cut off a he looked up in the direction of the dulcet tones to see his sister. All of his sister. "D-dah! For God's sake, Raven! Where are your clothes. P-pu-put some clothes on," he stuttered as he closed the fridge door and looked away as he suddenly found the counter on the other side of the kitchen very interesting to look at.

"That's not what you said when you first saw me," Raven responded with a discouraged tone as she sat down at the small table. "But I guess pets are always cuter when they're little, right?" she interrogated in a way that made Charles know with out any need to delve into her mind that Raven was in that state of mind where she may not be upset with him yet but she will be by the end of the conversation.

"Raven, I don't know what's gotten into you lately," Charles chided as he alternated his glances between Raven and the wine bottle. "I thought you'd be in a good mood. Hank, he tells me that he's found the answer to your charismatic problem," he said as he pulled out his own chair and took a seat across from his sister.

Raven said nothing in response and Charles knew he had said the wrong thing but, at this point, it was really getting impossible to know what the right thing to say was. "Are you gonna tell me what's the matter or do I have to read your mind," he questioned, starting to feel himself get agitated.

"You promised me you would never do that," Raven deflected harshly and Charles knew that she was right but he could hardly fix things between he and his sister if he had no idea what it was that he had broken.

"Until recently, I never had to use my power to know that you were thinking, Raven," he told her, letting his voice convey that he was a bit hurt by the rift that had steadily been forming between them in the last few months.

"You know, Charles, I used to think that it was going to be me and you against the world," his sister said, clearly getting to whatever it was that was irking her. "But, no matter how bad the world gets, you don't want to be against it, do you? You want to be a part of it," she threw at him, as though the thought of begin an accepted part of this world was now disgusting to her.

Before Charles could get the chance to say anything else, Raven's hands had slammed on the table and she was exiting the kitchen in an irritated rush.

As he sighed softly, Charles stole another glance at the bottle next to him on the table. Standing from the table and moving to the counter to pop open the bottle, he took a single swig before deciding that even the comforting call of alcohol wasn't worth the effort it was taking to stay awake. Instead, he put the stopper back in and replaced the bottle in the fridge and retreated from the kitchen, heading for his bedroom and the awaiting promise of dreamless sleep, if he was lucky.

Yanking open the door, Charles' eyes widened as he halted in the doorway as his gazed fixed across the room. Apparently his bed wasn't the only thing that had been awaiting his return.

"H-hello Erik," he greeted out softly keeping his eyes on man sitting on the edge of his bed and the other's the piercing green eyes directed at the telepath. "I can't say I expected to see you again this evening," he said with an attempt at nonchalance.

"It's hardly evening anymore," Erik replied, matching the nonchalance with much more success than Charles had managed. "It's nearly one o'clock."

Casting a look to the clock on the bedside table, Charles saw that Erik was right; in his distraction, he hadn't realized how much late it had become. "I suppose you're right, which furthers my question: why are you here?" Charles asked, too tired to beat around the bush.

"I kissed Raven," Erik blurted out without hesitation but he wore a look that told Charles that that wasn't what was really on the metal-bender's mind.

"Is that all you came here to tell me?" Charles questioned irritably.

"No, but I felt like you should know that before we talk," Erik replied too calmly.

"I don't know what you could possibly want to talk about right now, my friend," Charles said as he removed his coat and placed it on the back of a chair before moving to stand in front of Erik. He ignored the motion that the latter gave for him to join sitting on the bed. "But thank you for informing me of the status of your pursuit of my sister," he berated.

"I'm not looking to corrupt your sister."

"Really? That's surprising because you seem to be doing a perfectly good job of it," Charles reprimanded. "Honestly, Erik, what are you doing here? Did you not have your fill of humiliating me tonight in the study?"

"No. I mean, that's not what I'm here for," Erik said, sounding as though he was starting to get agitated as well. With a sigh he spoke up again. "I never meant to humiliate you, Charles. You kind of caught me by surprise with your little stunt." he told him. Catching the narrowing of the telepath's eyes at the idea that Erik was trying to pass the blame, he tried again. "God, Charles, I don't know how to put this into words. Just look and see for yourself," he exclaimed exasperatedly as he motioned to his head.

This proposition drew a shocked expression from the telepath and a hardly noticeable intake of breath. Still, Charles moved to place his middle and index fingers at his left temple. Letting his eyes fall shut, he pushed forward, knowing that Erik could feel is presence.

As Charles looked past the surface thoughts that consisted of Erik wanting him to understand something that was apparently very crucial, though what it was, Charles couldn't quite find without probing deeper. He was a little taken aback to find that the want he had forced Erik to feel earlier was still burning fresh in the latter's mind and he could feel a hot blush starting to spread on his own cheeks at the feeling. Even more astonishing was the added desire that he found that belonged solely to Erik himself. However, what had Charles absolutely dumbstruck was what he found just barely buried under the yearnings of both of them was the blatant endearment that had spread deep into Erik's mind, entirely directed at Charles. Now he understood what it was that was so crucial.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Charles decided to take up Erik on his offer to sit next to him on the mattress. He could feel that the blush had practically spread to his ears, now the result of both attraction and embarrassment at the revelation.

"Wha-what about Raven?" he manages to ask, mentally scoffing at himself for it but not all that surprised that something so insecure would be his first concern.

"I wasn't exactly in a proper state for evaluating my decisions earlier, with the way you left me. I won't call it a mistake but it shouldn't have happened." Erik told him as he shifted his body to be leaning in Charles' direction. Charles picked up on the thought that Erik sent his way after: _and I regret betraying you like that. _

"Well, what about now?" Charles questioned as he moved himself as well, getting rid of a few inches that was standing between him and Erik, the adjustment leaving their legs touching.

"I'm thinking pretty clearly now," Erik replied, knowing that Charles had been referring to his first statement in his inquiry.

With that, Erik reached up slowing, giving Charles the time to back away if he wanted to do so, and settled his hand on the junction of Charles' jawline and nape, carding his fingers into the telepath's astonishingly soft hair that felt almost feminine. As Erik pulled Charles forward and leaned in himself to have their lips meet somewhere in-between, Charles felt his uncertainty vanish with the distance.

Feeling one of Charles' arms wrap around his neck cautiously, the hand gripping softly at Erik's auburn hair. The other hand rested on Erik's thigh to steady himself as Charles tilted forward slightly and allowed his brilliant blue eyes to flutter closed to turn their actions into a true kiss, rather than just the meeting of lips.

Erik felt Charles accept and respond to the kiss softly and considered deepening it but restrained. It was only fair to let Charles make the next move if he felt inclined to do so. He himself had already come here and invaded Charles' personal chambers to let the man know that he was willing to give things a try. He had also broke the ground that passed the lines of friendship that they had been so delicately skirting around the passed few days and weeks. Now, he needed to know if this was really what Charles wanted as well, if he was still willing to make this leap of faith with a man who had so little faith in others.

Charles seemed to sense Erik's reluctance, be it by intuition or by taking a peak into the metal-bender's mind. However it happened, the telepath apparently took the hint that hadn't been placed for him and moved his hand away from Erik's thigh to replace it against his shoulder. Pushing lightly, Charles maneuvered Erik to be laying against the gracious pile of pillows that were against the headboard of the bed while Charles crawled forward at the same time to straddle Erik's waist, his knees situated on either side of the other's hips.

Laying across Erik's chest and tilting his head to get a good angle, Charles pushed forward to deepen the kiss as Erik wanted, his lips parting to make way for Erik's searching tongue. The latter's hands strayed from Charles' head to rest on the telepath's lean hips where they rubbed encouragingly.

Charles gave a contented hum at the new placement and rutted once against Erik's stomach to make the older man take notice to the growing testament of Charles' attraction. Erik's only response, however, was to increase the pressure of his hands on the hips to still Charles' movements. When he Charles tried again, this time in vain, to make friction between the two and found himself restrained, he let out a slightly frustrated mewl.

"No, Charles," Erik said firmly, breaking the kiss momentarily, his voice now rough and a bit more accented, Charles couldn't help but note. "If we're doing this, then we're going to do if right. I'm not letting you be just some quick fuck." Even as he said the words, though, Erik was taking in Charles' new look. The telepath's normally so vibrant a blue eyes were now clouded and dark while his lips' usual puffy and bright red was now emphasized from the kisses that were already starting to leave barely noticeable bruises.

His reverie was broken by the small noise of understanding that came from Charles and the feel of fine fingers working their way under the hem of his turtleneck that was quickly pulled off entirely.

"So, what is this right way you have in mind?" Charles asked huskily, looking up alluringly with a smirk from where he had started to mouth kisses at Erik's jawline. The grin was quickly erased from his face and a short yelp was emitted when Erik made a sudden movement to switch their positions, leaving Charles pinned under Erik's weight and at the mercy of whatever the metal-bender

"Well," Erik began. "It starts with me being on top and you basking in all of the attention that I'm going to give you," he told the still shocked telepath coyly before leaning down to suck at the pulse point on Charles' neck. Erik pulled Charles' button-up shirt out of his slacks and snaked his hands up to rub along the length of the surprisingly toned torso, though it was still pleasantly a bit softer than that of the acreage man. He came to a stop once he reached the chest, moving his fingers to tweak at Charles' already perked up nipples while the man whimpered quietly beneath him and fisted a hand into the sheets.

Pulling up from the sinful taste that was Charles, Erik gazed reverently into the man's alluring blue eyes, now heavy lidded as the he looked back up at Erik through thick lashes. Erik placed kiss that was softer than anything Charles could have ever imagined that the metal-bender was capable of. After breaking the innocent kiss, Erik drew away again in favor of yanking Charles' shirt up farther and shuffling it over Charles' head before tossing it somewhere on the floor.

With a grin, Erik leans forward once again and covers Charles' chest in more soft but sloppy kisses, leading down from his collarbone before coming to a halt as he hovered above Charles' nipples. Ducking down, he latched his mouth onto the one that wasn't already being assaulted by Erik's skilled fingers, wrenching a gasp and a moan from the small figure below him. Charles' labored breathing was becoming more noticeable, starting to come in harsh pants as Erik's sucking gave way to nipping.

Erik released the bud that he wasn't assaulting with his mouth and laced his fingers with Charles' before the telepath could fist his hands back into the sheets and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

With that, Erik let go of both the hand and the remaining nipple that he had been teasing with rough swipes of his tongue. He started to move lower, dipping his tongue into Charles' navel for good measure just to feel the ticklish jerk and hear the tiny whimper that he released at the ministration. With a slight chuckle, Erik raised his head back up and pushed down Charles' slacks along with his boxers. He allowed himself a moment to take in the sight before him, the fine cock that was already half-hard staring up at him, before he brought his his right hand to place his fingers in front Charles' lips.

"Open up. I doubt there's any lube left behind in that bedside table from when people last lived here fifteen years ago so we'll just have to make due," Erik explained and Charles more than complied. Taking hold of Erik's wrist, he pulled the first three fingers into his mouth and went to work, coating them in his saliva as he sucked greedily and swirled his tongue around and between the digits while little moans escaped him at the thought of these being inside him.

When Erik took away Charles' new fixation, he smaller man mewl at the loss and leaned forward, pining for them. Instead of indulging the telepath, Erik cupped his face with his hand that wasn't slicked and looked down at Charles in pure adoration. After giving Charles another absurdly delicate kiss that was gone before Charles got the chance to reciprocate, Erik lifted Charles' hips up by the thigh, to which the telepath complied by hooking his leg across the older man's neck, his clouded eyes never leaving Erik's face.

"Be gentle," came a shy and hesitant voice. Looking up, Erik saw that Charles was watching him reverently, though he was flushed with more shades of pink and red than Erik could ever home to name. "This is all new to me," he clarified sheepishly.

"I promise to play nice," Erik replied, all the more aroused at the thought that he was the first man to touch Charles this way, before dropping to lick a hard strip down Charles member and across his balls, mouthing both softly before adding, "If not completely fair." He reveled in the pleased sounds that Charles was making, every whimper and moan only encouraging him more.

Sucking softly at the vein, Erik prodded a cautious finger at Charles' entrance and felt the immediate reaction of Charles tensing up. "Relax," he whispered as he stroked a loving hand up and down Charles' thigh, soothing him, before pushing his finger past the first ring of muscle. At the clenching that Erik felt around his finger, he reiterated. "Relax."

He pressed the digit a bit farther the retreated entirely from the opening. Instead, he moved his mouth down to lick at the hole, knowing that a slick, wet tongue was often preferred to a spit slicked but otherwise dry finger. Charles' hips jerked excitedly and Erik pressed on, adding the finger back into the mix now that the entrance would be a bit slicker.

Charles took the finger in eagerly and Erik complied with his, pushing in and out with the one digit until he was certain that Charles was ready for another. At the second intrusion, Erik heard the soft gasp escape and felt Charles stiffen again but the tension soon faded as it became even more pleasurable than the first had been.

Looking up, Erik could see that Charles' hands were already again fisted into the rumpled sheets. A moment later, at the addition of a third finger, Erik felt something else accompanying the soft whimper and slight tightening around him. After a few seconds, Erik realized that the feeling was all in his head, literally. The sudden awareness that, with just this, Erik was already making never-less-than-immaculately-composed Charles Xavier lose his grip on control started to strip Erik of his own restraint.

Hearing the beautiful cries that Charles was giving him as Erik began to ram his fingers in and out roughly made the metal-bender exceedingly aware of his own rapidly growing erection that was still painfully confined in his pants and underwear.

Yanking his hand from the telepath's are and loving the loud, disappointed moan that he received in response, Erik quickly shucked off the remainder of his clothing and discarded the offending articles somewhere over the side of the bed.

Turning back to face Charles, Erik saw that the telepath had left his legs up in the air where they had slipped from Erik's shoulders and was now laying back, stretched open and ready for what was to come.

Replacing Charles' calfs on either side of his neck, Erik was pleased when Charles obliged him and wrapped them around, hooking his ankles together. Erik spat onto his palm and slicked his length that was already throbbing with want. It was a crude replacement for lube but there was nothing better at his disposal and Erik was not about to make Charles go his first time dry.

Once he was lined up with Charles' entrance, Erik inched forward a bit, relishing in the broken cry that Charles emitted at the movement. Still, he paused to let Charles adjust to the foreign intrusion. When he broke his concentration on restraining himself to chance a glance up, he saw that Charles' face was heavily flushed and a few tears were trekking their way down.

Something inside Erik shattered at the sight and suddenly nothing was as important as making Charles happy. Shifting his weight to balance himself without his hands, Erik motioned for Charles to sit up a bit. When Charles obliged him, Erik reached out to cup his cheeks and stroke away the stray tears with his thumb. At that, he was rewarded with a shy smile from Charles as the telepath moved his legs down to Erik's waits in favor of encircling his arms around Erik's neck instead. Teasing his fingers into Erik's hair, he pulled him forward for a kiss that would easily rank in Erik's top five.

As he leaned into the kiss, Erik slid farther inside of Charles, drawing a quiet moan that Erik eagerly devoured. Erik's tongue slipped past Charles' lips and explored as a welcome distraction of Charles' attention while Erik inched the rest of the way in, the telepath accommodating him magnificently to the hilt.

Separating himself from Charles' mouth, Erik drew back again until only his head was left inside its hole and then thrust forward cautiously, forcing another sensual moan from Charles' kiss-bruised lips.

As Erik repeated the process several more times, he knew that he wasn't going to last very long. Maybe it was because of how tight Charles' virgin ass was or maybe it was just the thought that it was the telepath himself he was slamming into now, after all those months of not even realizing that he had been desperately waiting for this moment, that was getting him off so quickly. Whatever it was, though, it wrenched his orgasm from him after only a few short minuets.

He came with a more than satisfied groan that quickly morphed into a moan then into a cry.

"Ah, god Charles," he gasped out as lurched forward to crash his lips against the telepath's, riding out his finish until he had come down from his high, at which point his kisses became something much more delicate.

"Mmph, Erik, love," Charles breathed out, breaking the kiss long before Erik cared to do so. "As glad as I am that our little endeavor went so well for you, I'm, ah, still a bit, well," he trailed off, glancing down to his groin where Erik noticed the nearly forgotten raging hard-on.

"I'm so sorry. Let me get that for you," Erik replied with a mischievous grin that didn't disappear when he lowered himself down and took Charles' entire length in his mouth at once.

"Gah! Jesus Christ! Erik!" Charles exclaimed as he immediately bucked up and was seized by his own orgasm without warning, shooting down Erik's awaiting throat.

Erik milked the last remaining drops, swallowed, and licked his lips seductively. He placed another sweet, though now also salty, kiss at Charles' lips. It was very erotic to taste himself and Charles was certain that, if he wasn't already spent, he would be able to get it up on that alone.

"That didn't take very much, did it?" Erik joked once both of their labored breathing had calmed to much softer pants, earning a light smack to the shoulder. Laughing softly, he gathered Charles into his arms and molded himself into the telepath's back, ignoring the way that his now limp cock was rubbing in the slick crevice of Charles bum.

"Shut up," Charles muttered, snuggling himself farther into Erik's embrace and pulling up his own arms to cling to Erik's. "You couldn't honestly expect me to last very long after the performance that you gave."

"Fair enough. It's not like I did much better," Erik conceded with a chuckle.

"Not at all, my love. You did wonderfully," Charles assured before adding as an afterthought, "So, no gag reflex, huh?"

Erik let out a snort then responded. "Really? We just had sex and that's the first thing on your mind?" he asked. "But no, I lost that a long time ago," he answered the question.

"Haha, can't say I can complain," Charles mumbled sleepily, nuzzling his head under Erik's chin contentedly.

A satisfied silence passed between them for several moments and Erik was starting to think that Charles had passed out for some much needed sleep when the telepath spoke up once again.

"So, where does this leave us?" he asked quietly, sound very unsure of himself.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you didn't want me to be just some quick fuck so what happens tomorrow? Did you mean that or are we just going to.." he trailed off and Erik could hear the scared wobble of Charles' voice.

Erik tightened his hold on Charles and responded. "I didn't consciously realize that this was what I wanted until tonight, Charles, but I do want it," he told him. "Whatever happens tomorrow, I want to stay by your side if you'll keep me there. I want to be with you," he said, placing a firm kiss to Charles' crown.

"Promise?" Charles asked childishly and, in that one word, Erik could hear the relief and happiness. Looking down, he saw the sleepy smile covering Charles' face.

"I promise," Erik complied with a soft chuckle and tried to push thoughts of affection towards his exhausted lover.

Instantly, he could Charles responded to the projected feelings and Erik felt the warm presence of Charles curling into his mind and around his thoughts. The presence was coated in feelings of love and safety. Erik allowed himself a small smile as he started to nod off to the comforting, steady sounds of the light snores that Charles was starting to make.

Eyes fluttered half-way open as Charles felt strips of warmth on his face from the sun filtering in through the blinds. He pawed lazily at the space on the bed next to him. Feeling nothing there, he opened his eyes up fully to see that Erik had disappeared form the spot that he had fallen asleep on. Placing the palm of his hand against the sheets where the sun wasn't reaching, Charles felt that they were still warm with body heat.

Blinking a few times and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Charles became conscious of the sound of running water coming from the direction of the bedroom's adjoining bathroom. After untangling himself from the mess of bedsheets, Charles made his way to the bathroom.

Entering, he saw Erik standing in front of the sink with a towel draped loosely around his waist, water cascading down his bare chest and dripping from his hair that was messy from being towel-dried and not yet slicked back. Sauntering over to him after receiving a simple nod as a greeting, Charles kissed the underside of Erik's jaw affectionately.

"Good morning, love," he whispered, voice rough with sleep.

"Well, someone's awfully friendly this morning," Erik replied, looking down at charles with a grin.

Charles took a hesitant step backwards. "I'm sorry. Was that uncalled for?" he asked, not wanting to cross any lines Erik may have drawn between them.

Erik laughed and wrapped his arms around Charles' waist just over the small of his back. "Not at all," he told him before leaning in for a kiss. Charles hummed happily and smiled into the kiss.

After a blissful moment of lips melting together, Charles pulled back. "I'm sorry, Erik. As much as I'd love to continue this, I need to take a quick shower," he told the metal-bender before he had the chance to realize exactly what he was saying. "We don't have much time to waste thins morning, I'm afraid," he clarified before Erik could get the chance to say anything or make any propositions that Charles knew he wouldn't be able to turn down.

Erik looked somewhat disappointed but gave Charles a quick smile as he responded, "I'll go get some breakfast ready for us and the kids. I imagine you must be _ravenous_ this morning." It came out as more of a purr than anything and Charles didn't get the chance to say anything in response as Erik grabbed his pile of clothes from the counter and walked gracefully from the bathroom.

With nothing left to distract him, Charles took his shower, readied himself for the day and the rest of the morning went by in the blink of an eye. Breakfast was a blur of stoled glances and touches, just small, unnoticeable brushes of fingers and shoulders. Before Charles could even register what was going on, they were all loading up onto the Blackbird and heading off to war.

"Erik? Erik." Charles tried for a response as he heard the unfamiliar voice through Erik's ears. As Erik turned around, he could see the man in the ridiculous helmet and knew that it was Shaw from what he had seen in Emma Frost's mind back in Russia.

Erik was moving toward Shaw and that blasted room and then, a moment later, there was nothing.

Charles felt his breath stop in his chest as his heart clenched. This couldn't be happening. Erik wouldn't cut him off like this. Charles may not be able to see it right now but Erik had to have a plan. Charles begged silently that he had a plan.

Gathering his bearings, Charles turned to face Moira in the meantime. "He's gone," he told her as he headed to the other side of the wrecked plane, searching for some way to help the situation.

"What?" he heard Moira's voice.

"He's gone into the void!" Charles reiterated. "I can't communicate with him there," he continued, trying to keep himself from panicking. He moved to help Moira with the radio communication, needing something to occupy his mind while he attempted to find some way to figure out what was going on with Erik.

A minuet later he was shown grace as he felt Erik's mind come back within his reach.

"He's back!" he shouted to no one in particular as he rushed to the plane door and concentrated on Erik's situation. He could feel that Erik was in pain right now, though the man seemed to be doing a good job of not letting on to that fact. _Erik, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. It's starting to work._ He pushed the thought into Erik's mind. Seconds later, Charles felt a sharp pain that shot through Erik's mind as the picture in his mind of the room became clearer. "It's working," he encouraged Erik. "I'm starting to see him but I can't yet touch his mind."

He could see the interaction going on between Erik and Shaw and the image of it all became perfectly open as he felt Erik smash the mirrors to smithereens by way of the metal structures in the walls.

He listened to the conversation and heard the wavers in Erik's voice as he replied to the things that Shaw was telling him. When Erik gave the signal, he surged forward with most of his concentration to freeze Shaw in his place as he reached in vain for his coveted helmet. The remaining of his occur was left to communicate with Erik. The moment Erik drops the metal bar in front of him, Charles feels his resolve in what he plans to do arise.

"Erik, please, wait," he called out in a rush, knowing he has only seconds to keep the link if Erik truly does intend to put on that infernal headpiece. "I've told you before; I know what this means to you but please! Show me that I mean more to you than that," he exclaimed and was briefly satisfied as he felt Erik hesitate as he grabbed for the helmet.

"Erik, I agree that Shaw needs to be taken out," he said, not wanting to use the actual words to say what they both knew had to happen if Shaw was ever to be stopped. "But, I beg of you Erik, please understand what I'm trying to tell you. I know that you've been planning to avenge your mother for nearly twenty years but realize that that is not a path that I can follow you on and it is not one that you will be able to come back from.

_Please, love, don't let this man control your life any more than he already has,_ he projected directly into Erik's mind for only him to hear. _Don't let him take anything else away from you. Please don't let him destroy what we've just begun to create._ Charles implored, sending Erik images from the previous night that still burned hot in Charles' mind.

With the images themselves, Charles sent all of the feelings of the overwhelming love that Charles had felt at the time, desperate to make Erik understand how badly he wanted this to work between, to keep building a life together. _You promised,_ he added, feeling rediculously like a kindergartner on a playground as he said it.

Charles didn't dare to breath as Erik said nothing and walked toward Shaw, one hand holding the helmet, the other reaching into his pocket. When Charles realized that Erik was pulling out the coin that he always carried on him, he breathed in sharply through his nose, terrified of what could be about to happen.

_You're right, Charles._

Charles hear Erik push the thought toward him and watched as Erik tucked the coin into the pocket of Shaw's coat. "I'm finished letting you dominate my life," Charles hear Erik say to Shaw before the metal-bender turned away and walking from the room, tossing the helmet to the ground as he left.

Charles breathed out a relieved half-laugh half-sob and sent a blast of telepathic energy as strong as he could conjure and relaxed as Shaw crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Charles looked back up at the entrance Erik had made in the sub. "Erik," he called out once he saw the man stepping past the wreckage. Erik smiled when he saw the telepath but the expression soon shifted to a frown as turned to face the water, or more specifically, the ships.

"Charles, read the ships and tell me what's going on out there," Erik instructed him. Charles frowned, confused for a brief moment, but as soon as he did what was asked of him, his eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, my God," he gasped. Glancing around the beach, his eyes found the red-skinned mutant he was now looking for. All of Shaw's men had stopped their fighting with Charles and Erik's own team for the time being and was looking out onto the ocean, trying to figure out what was going on. _Azazel, was it?_ Charles sent out.

_Ja_, came the short response.

_Would you be willing to teleport everyone off this beach in a moment?_ Charles needed to find a way to get all of them away quickly, before the ships start firing.

There was a few seconds of hesitation in which Charles could feel the teleporter's skepticism and mistrust. Despite these feelings, the answer came. _With so many people, I would not be able to have my full range of distance, but yes, I can get everyone at least back to the states in one jump._

_Thank you so much,_ Charles sent, relief washing over him now that he knew there was a way out. He knew that it was risky to trust on of Shaw's men but, at this point, they didn't have a lot of options.

With that settled, he turned his attention back to Erik. He could feel the man considering his next move, a move that shook Charles to the core more that the though of what Erik had planned to do to Shaw. "Erik, please, don't."

Erik looked back as Charles incredulously. "Charles, they're about to open fire on us with nuclear missiles and you want to just leave them be?"

"What?" came the voice of one of the children, sounding like Sean.

"I'm aware of that," Charles replied, ignoring the outburst from the sidelines. "Still, Azazel has agreed to get us away from here," Charles informed him. "Besides, it could be for the better. If they fire and we leave, the beach still gets blown up. They'll think us dead. No one will come looking for us," he continued, trying to convince Erik to abandon the idea of blowing up ships of the world's two largest superpowers. "We can leave in peace," he told Erik, eyes pleading.

Erik still stared at Charles somewhat dubiously, though Charles could feel his resolve wavering. He knew that he needed to quickly finish this; he could feel that they had less than a minuet. "Charles, the humans need to understand that they're not the only ones here anymore. We're not going out without a fight."

"I know, my friend, and maybe someday they will but today in not that day and launching several dozen nuclear missiles on them will do nothing to help our cause."

At that moment, Charles heard the successions of explosions that told him that it was now or never. They needed to leave. "Everyone, grab hands!" he shouted to both his men as well as Shaw's accomplices. "Azazel, please," he asked, knowing that he didn't need to explain. Turning to face Erik with a frantic expression, he extended his hand. "Please, love, I want you with me."

As Erik moved his hand, Charles was worried for a second that he was going to raise it to tamper with the weapons coming toward them. Instead, he was viciously grateful when Erik's warm had took a firm hold of his. A moment and a taste of sulfur later, they were all standing in a warehouse in God knows where.

Looking around and seeing that everyone was safe, though a little dizzy from the method of travel, Charles let out another relieved laugh-sob. He swayed on his feet, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him, and Erik was quickly at his side, supporting him as Charles knees gave out. He collapsed into Erik's waiting arms, which curled around and pulled him close and Erik scooped him up bridal style. He placed a quick press of lips in Charles' hair before resting resting his cheek on the crown of the telepath's head. "It's over, Charles," he whispered softly so that no one else would here. _Thank you. _

Charles chuckled softly and asked "For what, my love?"

"Everything."

_Of course, love, _Charles sent to him before tossing another glance around at everyone. With a quick smile in Raven's direction once he saw that his sister was alright, save for a limp that she was sporting, he spoke up. "I would normally suggest that we all find a hospital to get ourselves checked out but given the circumstances, I don't think that it would be the best idea."

He could feel the thankfulness that Erik was emitting at the idea of not having to visit a human hospital right now. "Hank, would able to look everyone over once we get back to Westchester?" he asked, knowing that there were at least a few injured that needed to be taken account of.

At Hank's nod of consent, Charles smiled and carried on. "Wonderful. Azazel, would you be willing to take us on one more jump to get to New York? Westchester to be exact. You lot are welcome to stay there as long as you like, at least you rest up." Charles knew that the others on his side were not going to be very grateful for this invitation to people they had been fighting against but they were now indebted to them, or at least to Azazel.

When Azazel nodded, Charles smiled appreciatively and sent the location over to the teleporter's mind.

"If everyone would please grab hands again," he instructed. As soon as they had complied, Charles smelt that unforgiving scent of sulfur and suddenly they were all back in the main hall of the mansion.

Charles sighed contentedly as he looked around. He may have not always loved this house-that-had-never-until-recently-been-quite-a-home, he couldn't be happier to see everyone safe and sound back here where they belonged and, more than anything, together.

Changing an adoring glance up at Erik, Charles realized that there was one thing that could make him happier at this moment.

"Well, everyone, please make yourselves at home," he said for the benefit of the new arrivals. A quick sweep of their minds left him assured that, at least at this moment, none of them had any plans to slit any throats. In fact, what really seemed to be on their minds was that the group was surprising thankful that the war had been avoided and that they had a place to rest and recuperate for the time being. It made Charles wonder briefly why they had been involved with Shaw in the first place.

"Hank, if you wouldn't mind seeing to the injuries, I would be very grateful," Charles said before looking again up to Erik. "As for you, if you aren't too beat up from your mess on the submarine, I am thoroughly exhausted and would be extremely happy if you could bring me to my room," he mumbled tiredly as he nuzzled his face into the crook of Erik's neck, inhaling his scent and relishing in the thought that the man was still here.

Charles let his mind wander, not even registering if Erik made any reply, until they arrived at his door, which Erik easily worked open without the use of his hands. Once Charles was deposited on the bed, Erik pulled the covers up to the his chest before turning to walk out of the room again.

"Where are you going?" Charles frowned.

"I'll be right back," Erik assured without answering the question.

Charles allowed himself to follow Erik's presence to where it stopped in the kitchen but didn't make the effort to actively read it to figure out what Erik was doing. Rather, he shut his eyes and reflected on how content he was with how things went for the most part.

For starters, they had all come back and come back relatively unscathed, save for Angle's wing, which Charles sincerely hoped would heal. He would have to inquire with Hank about that later. Secondly, they were all likely safe from the government now, at least for a while if they even figured out that they had survived the bombing. To top things off, is didn't seem like Shaw was going to cause any more trouble in his condition. Since Charles had left the man unconscious in the sub, he wouldn't have been able to pull his absorbing energy trick with the missiles. By now, Shaw was in pieces a thousand miles away.

Charles felt a little bad that he felt happy about that fact but it was the way it was. The man needed to be stopped and, he supposed, for some people, stopping, mean having to put down. At least, that had beed Shaw's case.

Charles was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Erik coming back down the hall until the door opened to reveal the metal-bender walking in with a tray of tea and sandwiches, at which Charles grinned like an idiot.

"I thought you might be hungry. Even if you're not, I imagine you will be later. It's been a long day," Erik said, setting the tray down on the bedside table.

"I appreciate that, love. I'm sure they're delicious and I look forward to having them later. For now, how about we just take this time to relax," he said, patting the side of the bed next to him, silently asking for Erik to join him.

Erik smiled and didn't even bother to circle to the other side of the bed before taking Charles up on the offer, instead just crawling over him. As he did, he gathered the telepath into his arms and held him close to his chest. Charles melted into the embrace, curling up against Erik, and pressed his ear up to the spot where he could he Erik's heart beating through the uniform that neither of them had bothered to strip themselves of yet.

"Thank you, love," he mumbled against Erik, tilting is head upward to fit it under Erik's neck again.

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise," Charles replied sleepily as he started to drift off to the steady beat of Erik's heart


	2. Fireworks

It was a bit astonishing, Charles thought, to see how comparatively easy it was for a group of people who were so different from each other could coexist peacefully. It only took a couple of weeks for a relative calm to settle into the house between the students and Shaw's former henchmen and, within the span of a month, the trio of wayward mutants had seemingly been accepted as part of the team.

The only one who appeared to be met with reluctance that spanned beyond the expected suspicion was Angel, which, while unfortunate, was understandable. All of the other students were still very aware of the betrayal that Angel had chosen and that it had lead to the loss of Darwin. Still, an effort was clearly being made on both sides of the issue and that was all Charles could really ask of them.

It helped that Raven, being the only other girl in the entire house, aside from Moira, was a little more willing than the boys to rekindle a tentative friendship with Angel. But, still, having half a house of people blaming you for the death of a good friend and most of the rest not really caring too much either way, Charles could tell that it was getting hard for the girl.

Things took a turn for the better, though, when Charles felt a familiar mind searching for them a few days before thanksgiving. Immediately, he had grabbed his coat, taken a car from the many choices in the garage, and headed for the city. It didn't take terribly long to find the wandering presence and he was greeted eagerly upon his arrival.

When he pulled into the driveway back at the house, the questions as to where he had gone so suddenly, without so much as a word, that were already forming on everyones lips, particularly Raven and especially Erik, quickly died when they caught sight of the dark-skinned man in toe with him.

"Son of a bitch, he did adapt," came Erik's voice, the first to break the stunned silence.

At that, it was like a dam shattering. All of the students surged forward, pulling Darwin into quick hugs before he was pulled away by someone else. Alex was the last to make any movements.

"I'm glad you okay," he mumbled awkwardly, glancing up at Darwin to see that the man's arms were held open expectantly as he awaited the last hug. With a chuckle, Alex stepped into the embrace briefly before pulling back, trying to subtly wipe away at the tears that he would later insist were never there.

"Looks like we're in need of another tour!" Raven called out cheerfully. "Who wants to help me show Darwin around the place?" Her offer was met by an enthusiastic shout from the rest of the group and soon it was just Erik and Charles left on the rocky pathway.

"How'd he do it?" Erik asked idly.

"How do any of us do the things we do?" Charles retorted with a smile. "I'm really happy that he did, though. I think that Darwin being here will be really good for everyone, especially Alex and Angel," he added hopefully.

Things were comfortably silent for a moment and after that moment was up, Erik warped an arm around Charles waist. "Let's get back inside. It's pretty chilly out here," he said lightly, nudging Charles, who knew that Erik was right, forward.

As per usual, Charles was right on the mark. After another week, it seemed that Angel had been welcomed back into the group, much thanks to Darwin. Charles knew that she had been beyond relieved to learn that Darwin didn't hold any of what happened against her; she had made a choice and it had been his own choice to try and stop her. Now they could choose to put it behind them.

Similarly, Erik and Moira had begun attempts to put their feud with each other behind them. Not long after Cuba, everyone came to the decision that Moira would have to stay; it wasn't like they could very well send her back to the CIA. After all, they were trying to remain off the radar and the longer the government believed them all to be dead, the better it would be for everyone involved. Besides, having another woman in the house was effecting a positive response from Raven and Angel. As they had said many times in the last month and a half, while they loved the boys, sometimes they just needed a little girl time.

They only real event that shook things up in the mansion was the incident where Charles and Erik accidentally outed themselves.

Two months after everyone had settled into the mansion, just a few days before Christmas, Erik had apparently thought it funny to tie up mistletoe above his chair in the study before their game of chess before dinner. When Charles had walked over to hand him his glass of scotch, Erik had met Charles' eyes and pointed upward with a smirk. Of course, Charles had found it all in good fun at first and quickly obliged himself to tradition's standards.

It certainly started out as a innocent, seasonal kiss but, soon enough, Erik had snaked his arms around Charles' waist and Charles had straddled Erik's waist in return, his hands buried deep within Erik's auburn tresses. Feeling Erik buck up against him slightly to put some friction between both of their steadily swelling members, Charles had absolutely no intentions of stopping.

That was, until a high-pitched squeak broke through the sounds of the two men's gasps and moans.

Erik's arms quickly disappeared from their resting spot and Charles lurched backwards in surprise, catching a glimpse of Raven standing in the doorway, before losing his balance and crashing unceremoniously to the floor, hitting his head on the side of the table on the way down. Charles let out a soft cry and Erik was at his side in an instant, his hands on Charles' shoulders, helping him into a somewhat more dignified sitting position rather than the heap on the floor, while Charles' hands were busy cradling his throbbing head.

"Well, I _was_ coming to tell you that dinner's ready but I can see that you guys are already very busy eating each other's faces," Raven mutters. "I'll see you downstairs." she adds before rushing out the door.

Charles glanced toward the door and, seeing that Raven was long gone, turned a sheepish look on Erik. "I suppose the cat's out of the bag, now," he said with a chuckle that soon morphed into an full-out laugh. He reached out to clutch Erik's shoulder for support as he fell into a fit of giggles at the whole situation and Erik, finding the sight much more amusing than he figured he really ought to have, was soon laughing along, resting his forehead against the telepath's.

Everyone accepted the news readily, though Raven, slightly bitter about her brother winning the guy she liked, wouldn't speak with either of them for the next day or two. Charles tactfully granted her the time she needed to vent and she came around soon enough; Charles was also extremely pleased when his sister even sought him out to offer him her congratulations.

As it happened, Raven seemed to move on easily from Erik and found a new interest in Azazel, which Charles was slightly less than ecstatic about but kept quiet, not wanting to ruin his sister's newfound happiness with the protective older brother act. Besides, if anyone was going to be able to understand and relate to her, Charles supposed, it would be Azazel.

Life in the mansion carried on peacefully after that. Raven and Azazel grew closer and closer, the other students were getting on almost as though nothing had ever gone wrong between them, and Charles and Erik no longer felt any pressure to hide their relationship. There were still brushes of fingers and knees hidden under the table just for their own private enjoyment and there were still late nights when they tried in vain to play quietly but there was no longer any fear of what would happen should anyone catch on to their games.

Everything had fallen into a relatively easy pattern by the time new years was rolling around. Of course, it was still nearly a daily occurrence that something caught fire or smashed or blew up or in any other way was mutilated by the never-ending mischief that the children seemed to get up to. Even with the chaos, Charles never stopped finding himself completely enamored with his current situation, so much so that he brought up to Erik the prospect of going back on the road to search for more mutants.

"The children are coming along so well. I would love to see what we could do for those even younger," Charles spoke up one night in the study. "Imagine what it would have been like to grow up in a place where you're not alone in your talents, to grow up not having to hide or be afraid or ashamed of who you are."

"Is this about that school idea of yours, again?" Erik asked with a soft smile as he gazed across the chessboard at Charles fondly.

"Of course it is," Charles laughed. They both knew that this was becoming an increasingly familiar discussion. "And don't act as though you aren't interested," he scolded playfully. He remembered very well the way Erik's eyes had lit up when Charles had first brought up the possibility.

"There would be no point trying to lie to you, now would there," Erik teased back. He was well aware that Charles would never delve into his mind without the permission to do so but he also was completely conscious of the fact that, at this point, Charles had little need to do so to know what Erik was thinking. "You know where I stand on that; I'm all for it so long as we don't squander these kids' gifts by hiding them away from the world," Erik asserted.

It was always where the real issue lied with the idea that they both loved. Erik wanted for the mutants that they took in to accept themselves. He wanted them to be proud of who they were and to not have to live in fear and isolation because the less evolved people couldn't accept that they weren't alone in the rule of the world anymore. Charles always maintained that, while he too wanted the students to accept themselves, there was a certain matter of safety that needed to be taken into account. These were children and, no matter how proud of themselves or skilled they are in their abilities, there would always be a bitter human that had the means to take them out anyways. He had learned well from the incident on the beach in Cuba that humans were not going to easily accept the presence of mutants, and this only made him all the more resolved to protect as many of them as he could manage to fit within the walls of his home.

"Perhaps you're right, love," he conceded anyways after a moment of thought. He understood that he and Erik held very different views and there would always been need for compromise. "How about this, then. The younger mutants we admit should remain at the school most of the time and learn to use and appreciate their powers properly while older students can focus on learning to integrate themselves into society," he proposed.

"Are you suggesting that we have two separate schools?" Erik questioned with a laugh. "We're already trying to get down plans for the first," he exclaimed with an amused expression. It was just like Charles to go out of his way like this.

"Within the same walls of this home, but yes. It does make sense. I mean, older and younger students will have different needs to cater to and perhaps it might be best for that to address those in completely separate manners," Charles speculated, worrying lightly on his lip and getting that expression he always gets when he's thinking hard about something that matters to him. The last time he wore that expression, it hadn't been very long before whatever conversation they had been having was long forgotten when Erik couldn't resist jumping him. "Now, if we were to have two school, we might look into have two different people in charge," he continued, looking at Erik expectantly.

It didn't take long for the metal-bender to catch on the where Charles was going with this. "You want _me_ to run a _school_?" he asked skeptically.

"My friend, I daresay, you might be good at it,"Charles told him, now looking at him in the way he did when he truly believed that Erik was able to do something.

Knowing that Charles had so much faith in him already, Erik slowly found his own apprehensions wavering. The thought that they were finding a way to compromise on this issue was very appealing to him and, the more he thought about it, the more the prospect of having a chance to teach mutants that they didn't have to be the pariahs of society was quickly growing on him.

Apparently, Charles could tell that Erik was already getting hooked on the idea and that soon enough he would agree because the next thing he said was, "Just think on it for a bit. We can talk about it more later." With that, Charles made a final move on the chessboard. "Checkmate," he said contentedly.

As anyone who knew that Erik would do just about anything for Charles could have predicted, he gave in about a day later. It was more than worth it when he saw the way Charles' face lit up the entire stan of the Xavier gourds when Erik told him that he would back him up in this school endeavor.

From there, they asked Raven what she thought about the idea and she was quick to agree.

"I think it's great, Charles," she told him. "It'll be nice to see some new faces around here. I can only take so many of Sean's lame pick-up lines without wanting to follow Erik's lead and shove him off another satellite dish," she joked before adding, "Besides, I think it would be good for you to get out again. Since nothing big has really happened since we got back from Cuba, I'm starting to get worried that you're going to turn into an even bigger old-fart academic than you were at Oxford.

Charles laughed along with the well-intended joke but Erik caught the falter in his grin and made a note to sake Charles about it later.

The chance to do so didn't come around until long after dinner, once Erik had made his way back up to the room that he and Charles shared. As he opened the door, he heard sounds of movement coming from the bathroom. Crossing through the bedroom, he stopped to lean against the bathroom doorframe. From there, he had a nice angle of Charles' bum as the man stepped off of a scale. Walking in casually, he stood behind the telepath and wrapped his arms around his midsection, leaning forward to nuzzle his face into Charles' wet hair that smelled like Erik's favorite shampoo.

Charles jumped softly at the sudden contact but quickly moved his own arms backward to encircle Erik as he tilted his head to rest it against Erik's. They stayed like that for a few long, blissful moments and no words passed between them in that time. Finally, yet too soon, Charles untangled himself from Erik's grasp.

"I'll let you use the bathroom now," Charles told him with a soft smile.

With that, Erik was alone in the bathroom. It was too late to tell the other that he had only come in here to be with him. Still, he supposed he would have to take care of the nightly bathroom routine sometime and he knew that, if he went to settle himself into the bed with Charles now, there was no way he would want to leave later. As quickly as he could, Erik washed his face and brushed his teeth, skipping the shower for now; he could always take one in the morning.

Once all of his hygiene obligations were fulfilled, he pulled off his slacks and turtleneck and tossed them into the hamper next to the bathroom door on his way out, leaving himself in nothing more than his boxers.

Making his way back into the bedroom and over to the bed, he saw Charles sitting on the edge with a drawn expression, looking to be thinking carefully.

"Deep thoughts, my friend?" Erik asked as he dropped to his knees in front of Charles and put his arms back around the telepath's waist, burying his face into the cuddly stomach in front of him and placing an affectionate kiss there.

"Erik, stop that," Charles warned testily, pushing firmly at the metal-bender's shoulders to move him away from the warm belly.

Erik frowned at the reaction. It wasn't an uncommon utterance on Charles' part when they were fooling around but it had always been said more or less jokingly with embarrassed laughter when Erik was been audacious or found another sensitive spot on Charles' surprisingly ticklish body. Now, however, it sounded like Charles really meant it and was honestly bothered by Erik's ministration.

Pulling back but leaving his hands where they were rested on the small of Charles' back, Erik peered up to meet his eyes. "What's wrong, Charles? You've been a bit off today," he commented, worriedly.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing, really," Charles mumbled, shifting his gaze.

"Clearly, if it's got you this worked up, it's not nothing," Erik prodded. When Charles didn't respond, he tried again. "I want you to talk to me, love," he insisted, utilizing the pet name that often used.

Hearing the endearment, Charles made the mistake of looking back down at Erik, taking in the kind eyes that were reserved for him and the way his brow was knitted together in concern. At that, Charles lost all resolve.

Charles sighed heavily and spoke hesitantly. "You can't laugh," he told Erik sternly.

"I would never laugh at you. Not cruelly, at least," Erik said, looking incredulous. "You know that."

"I-I know. It's just…" Charles trails off for a moment. After fiddling with his hands in his lap, stalling for as long as he can, he meets Erik's eyes completely. "Am I getting fat?" he asks quietly.

Erik could only stare at him for a few seconds of stunned silence. To be honest, it does take a notable amount of effort to make good on his promise not to laugh; it is not Charles that he feels compelled to scoff at, but the notion that Charles could be anything less than perfect.

"What?" Erik breathed, trying to reagin his ability to speak. "Is this about what Raven said?" he finally manages, having regained his composure from the shock.

"Yes…no…I…well, a bit," Charles stuttered before taking a breath to steady himself and his speech. He could feel his face heating up in embarrassment as he thought about how ridiculous he sounded right now, like a silly teenage girl. "Erik, I've gained ten pounds since we got back. It's not healthy!" he exclaimed.

Erik was silent for a moment. Wordlessly, he trailed his hands up Charles back to the top of the shirt and moved to pull it from Charles' back. The smaller man briefly tried to resist but his efforts quickly died out and soon enough he was topless. Erik shifted forward again, placing another impossibly soft kiss to Charles' stomach, directly above the navel. If Erik was being truthful, he couldn't deny that there was a slightly more pronounced curve to Charles' plush abdomen than there had been when they had first made love over two months ago.

"Do you trust me, _liebling_?" Erik asked, not pulling back even an inch from where he had settled himself against Charles waist.

"Mm hmm," Charles noised cautiously, not sure where this was going.

"Then trust me when I say that there is absolutely nothing on this earth that you or anyone else could do that would make you anything less than perfect to me," he whispered, sending with the reassurance the feelings of adoration that he always was overcome by when he was around Charles. _I love you, _he sent over as well.

Charles smiled happily and pulled Erik's face up towards his own to press their lips together in a tender kiss. _I love you too. _

With that, Erik pulled apart and stripped Charles of his pants before standing to walk around to the other side of the bed. Charles seemed to take the hint as Erik crawled into bed and pulled back the covers for him, leaving his arms open in a waiting fashion.

Charles was quick to oblige him curling up happily into Erik's warm embrace. He was still a bit bothered by his predicament but he was willing to let it drop for now in favor of letting himself drift off to the comforting feel of Erik pressing his lips to Charles' hair and rubbing gentle circles on his back.

When Erik blinked the sleep out of his eyes the next morning, the first thing he saw was that his arms were empty. The second thing he saw was that the space of bed next to him was also empty. Groaning softly as he sat up, Erik glanced around the room, listening for any sounds of his lover.

No Charles in the bedroom. No sounds coming from the bathroom.

With a sigh, Erik swung his legs from the bed. It wasn't unusual for Charles to be an early riser but, on most days, he lazed in bed after waking and snuggled up against Erik, waiting for the metal-bender to wake up as well. If he had foregone the lure of early morning cuddling, he must have had something he wanted to do elsewhere.

After he had taken a shower and thrown on some slacks and a simple, dark-blue turtleneck, Erik wandered out of the room and stalked through the halls in search of Charles. Instead, he happened across Raven.

"Have you seen Charles?" he asked bluntly.

"Good morning to you too," Raven snarked but they both knew that the retort was just for show. Everyone knew very well how attached to and protective of Charles Erik was and no one really minded to much when he got a little short with them where Charles was concerned. "I saw him a couple minuets ago. I think he was heading for the kitchen," Raven told him without needing any further prompting.

"Thanks," Erik muttered hastily as he set off down to hall.

He had almost reached the door of the kitchen when a loud crash sounded through the air, quickly accompanied by a soft cry. Rushing to the door, Erik peered inside.

It was all he could dot stay standing as he doubled over laughing.

When Charles woke up in the morning, Erik's arms were still wound around him possessively, bringing a small smile to Charles' lips. He contemplated the prospect of just staying in bed like he normally did and abandoning his plans but, after a few hard moments of thought, he decided otherwise.

It was New Years Eve and he had been wanting to surprise Erik and the others with something special and he really wanted to get it done before nightfall. Though, knowing his baking skills, it would probably still be evening by the time that he was finished. That being the case, he would need all the time he could get and, unfortunately, that left little time for relaxing in bed with Erik.

Erik was a very light sleeper, as Charles had well learned, so he had to move as quietly and carefully as possible. And, if he had used his telepathy just a bit to keep Erik asleep while he snuck out of the room, no one had to be the wiser.

"Good morning, Raven," he said cheerfully as he passed the living room, one of them, where Raven was settled into one of the plush armchairs. "You're up early."

"I would say the same to you but that would be ignoring the fact that you're always up at ungodly hours of the morning," Raven responded teasingly.

Charles chuckled as he moved on, pushing past the door that led into the kitchen. Quickly, he gathered up the supplies that he had already made sure to have stocked earlier that week.

He made it halfway across the kitchen with his bowl of ingredients before a sudden wave of overwhelming dizziness washed over him. As he reached out and clutched for the counter to keep himself from collapsing less than gracefully, the bowl slipped from his grasp and clattered noisily to the ground. When it hit, the bag of flour that he had been carrying burst open and Charles was suddenly covered in a cloud of white powder.

The first thing he heard was a loud bark of laughter. Blinking through the thick coating of flour that was covering his face, Charles saw Erik, with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle and leaning heavily against the doorframe, cracking up at what Charles knew must be a very entertaining sight.

"Yes, I'm thrilled that you're amused but, as soon as you compose yourself, I would greatly appreciate a little help," Charles said, finding the means to speak again.

Erik wiped at a stray tear and stood up straight again. "I'm sorry, Schatz," he chuckled as he started to walk over to Charles' unsteady form.

Charles released his grip on the counter tentatively and nearly toppled forward as he lost his balance, still not recovered from his bout of lightheadedness. He shot his hand out to grab hold of the support once again but Erik was already at his side, gripping his shoulders firmly to steady him.

The feel of Erik ageist him always grounded Charles, at the same time that it sent him sky high, and Charles let himself lean forward to rest against the solid chest in front of him, tilting his face into the crook of Erik's neck. Erik smelled like Charles' favorite shampoo, the one that he kept stealing from Erik. He inhaled deeply…

…and instantly regretted it.

Charles moved away and sneezed loudly as a rush of flour invaded his nose. Erik chuckled again lightly but reached out to pull Charles back to him as the latter began to wobble unsteadily for another wave of dizziness from the sneeze, this one much more manageable than the first. Charles accepted the support gratefully and gripped lightly at Erik's shirt, sighing contentedly and shutting his eyes until the room stopped spinning.

When his head was marginally clearer, Charles pulled back just enough to peer up. Erik was looking down at him, his face a mixture of emotions consisting somewhere along the lines and amusement, curiosity, and concern.

"What happened in here?" Erik asked softly, his voice containing the same mixture of emotions as his face.

Charles considered lying and blowing the whole incident off but the throbbing in his temples that was making it hard to think convinced him otherwise. "I got dizzy and dropped everything," Charles mumbled, burying his face back into Erik's neck in an attempt to hid how red his face was becoming, though he was pretty sure that Erik could feel the hot blush that was pressed up to his skin. It was a less than professorly choice of words but Charles couldn't care much less.

"Dizzy?" Erik repeated and Charles nodded in response. "Are you okay?" Erik ventures on, concern lacing ever word.

"My head hurts a little bit but, really Erik, I'm alright," Charles sais, slightly pulling away again. Erik allows him that much but won't let Charles leave his grasp. "Honestly, Erik, I'm fine," he insists, wiggling his way out of Erik's hold. For all of his assurances, though, his shaky steps seem to prove him otherwise.

Erik stares at him doubtfully and moves to stand next to him, bringing an arm around Charles' shoulders. "Come on," he tells him. "At least sit down for a few minuets in the living room. Then, you can get back to whatever fiasco you were attempting to start here," Erik teases, calmly leading Charles from the kitchen.

A few minuets later, Charles is neatly settled on the couch, laying against Erik's chest again while the older man cards his fingers through Charles' still flour-coated hair.

"So, what were you up to in the kitchen, anyways. You don't normally cook," Erik asked. In fact, he had never once Charles cook anything more than a cup of tea.

"It's New Year's Eve tonight," Charles commented. When Erik doesn't say anything to imply that he understands what Charles mean he continues. "I was going to make a cake for everyone to celebrate our first New Year's together."

"Why didn't you just ask me for help?" Erik questioned. "I woke up this morning in a cold bed, _all alone_," Erik says, exaggerating for emphasis.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Charles muttered, grumpy that his plan had been ruined. Now that the flour was all over the kitchen floor, there was no way he was going to be able to make the cake in time. Charles drew his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them at the same time that he felt Erik stop petting him to reach around to hold Charles by the waist, leaning his cheek against the top of Charles' spine.

_What's wrong, liebling?_ Erik sent over to Charles quietly. It would figure that Erik would know him so well, to be able to tell by that simple shift in position that Charles was upset; the only times that Charles balled up like that were times when he was in a bad mood.

Charles held his knees closer but relaxed a bit into the intimate position that Erik had put them in. _It's New Year's Eve_, Charles reiterated. I just wanted to do something special. _I was going to make the cake and we could all have dinner together. Then we were all going to do fireworks on the grounds_, he thought back to him, starting to tremble in Erik's embrace.

Erik pulled away momentarily and adjusted Charles so that they were facing each other. He wrapped his arms back around Charles and embedding a hand back into the telepath's hair, running his fingers through and scratching softly at the base of his skull.

"Well, I don't know about a cake any more but I don't see why we can't all still have dinner and do fireworks together," he assured him gently.

Charles loved when Erik got this way, when he let himself be completely affectionate and loving and kind. This was the goodness that Charles had been able to see in Erik several months ago while it was still hidden away, buried deep under all the anger and hatred that has finally begun to fade away. Even more, Charles loved that Erik didn't feel comfortable enough around anyone else to show this side. This Erik was just for him.

"And," Erik continued. "In the morning, I'll make a big New Year's breakfast for everyone. How's that sound?" Charles looked up to see him smiling fondly.

"That sounds wonderful, love," Charles replied. "Will there be hotcakes?" he asked suddenly, eyes wide and hopeful.

Erik chuckled softly and barely resisted the urge to kiss the ridiculous man he loved senseless right then and there. "If you want me to make hotcakes, they'll be there," he promised him and was given a magnificent smile in return for the commitment.

At that, Erik threw the resistance he had been maintaining out the window. Sitting up on his knees, he pushed Charles back to where he was laying sprawled across the couch. A devilish grin breaking out onto his face, Erik folded his arms above Charles' head and crushed their lips together in a bruisingly passionate kiss. It only intensified when Charles' hands snaked up Erik's back and fisted themselves into Erik's hair, still damp from his shower, and pulled him impossibly closer.

Erik had just enough time to lick at Charles' swollen lips and briefly push his tongue past as Charles parted them with a fervent moan before they were broken apart by voices from the hallway.

"Guys, what happened in the kitchen? There…" Moira's words cut off abruptly when she finally reached the entrance of the living room, having followed the trail of flour that Charles had no doubt left behind during his track from the kitchen. "Geez, you guys! Why can't you close the door an leave a hat on the handle like normal people?" she exclaimed, turning back around. "Clean up the mess you made in the kitchen when you're done!" she called out as she walked away.

Charles gazed back at Erik, his face flushed with more than just embarrassment. He smiled sheepishly. "I'm dizzy again," he whispered giddily.

"Good," Erik retorted smugly with a smile of his own before leaning back in to place another kiss to Charles wet, red, and puffy lips. It wasn't desperate or hungry like the last but rather exceedingly tender and more loving than anything else Charles had ever felt from Erik.

Charles melted into the kiss just long enough for Erik to pull back away. He waited for the older man to say something but, when he seemed perfectly content with starring at Charles reverently, Charles spoke up for him. "We really should go clean up our mess," he said lightly.

"Our? I don't remember throwing flour all over the kitchen," he teased as he dropped his head again to rest his forehead against Charles'. "You feel a little warm. Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, going back to his serious disposition.

"Erik, you just snogged me to the point that I couldn't think straight. It's not a stretch to think that I may have warmed up a bit in the last few minuets," Charles responded. Seeing Erik's disbelieving stare he tried again. "I assure you, love, I am perfectly fine," he averred, pushing his face upward to nuzzle his nose up to where Erik's forehead hadn't moved away.

"Alright," Erik relented with a chuckle. "But promise me that you'll let me know if you do start to feel unwell. At the very least, talk to Hank, since he seems to have become the family doctor anyways," Erik insisted, clearly still not quite put at ease.

"Okay, love, I promise," Charles assured him and Erik finally seemed satisfied enough to let him up from the couch.

Through the rest of the day, Erik made good on his promises to Charles.

Once the kitchen had been cleaned of all the spilled flour, Erik and Charles went into the city to pick up fireworks. Erik cooked a large dinner, with much help from Raven and Moira, and everyone obliged Charles and settled down at the table in the nice dining room for the meal. Even Azazel and Janos seemed to be enjoying themselves in the other's company, though Charles didn't miss the glances between Azazel and Raven that were clearly meant to be secretive.

After dinner, as soon as it was dark, everyone gathered outside with the large box of fireworks that Charles and Erik had picked up.

It was good to see the kids having so much carefree fun. Things had become so easy going since the Cuba mission had been taken care of and all the more so when Darwin had suddenly showed back up in their lives.

Tearing his eyes away from where the students were drawing pictures in the air with sparklers, Charles gazed up at Erik lovingly.

"This is the start of something wonderful, my friend," Charles murmured, sitting in complete tranquility in Erik's lap with the metal-bender's arms wrapped securely around his waist. Sighing contentedly, Charles took hold of Erik's arms encircling him and held the even closer as he reclined and nestled his head under Erik's chin.

Erik made a small noise of agreement, tightening his grip as Charles seemed to want. _I'm glad we did this_, he sent back silently, letting his eyes slip closed as he moved to press his lips to Charles' temple.

It was already nearly midnight by the time the students had burnt out their seemingly endless supply of explosives. Moira, Azazel, and Janos had already retreated back inside the mansion in favor of breaking out New Year's drinks. Now that the appeal of the outdoors had eliminated itself, the students finally were content with being led back in side by Erik, who was also practically carrying a half-asleep Charles that had nodded off in Erik's peaceful embrace earlier that night.

Everyone gathered back into the living room for one last get-together of the night to count down to twelve. As soon as the clock struck, Charles spun around in Erik's arms to look up at him at the same time the Erik glanced down, his eyes searching Charles for permission. Charles laughed at the unasked question and wordlessly wound his arms around Erik's neck for the first kiss of the new year.

It didn't last long, though, before Raven cut in.

"Good God, you two are going to give everyone cavities!" Raven called out from across the room, intentionally ruining the mood. Charles sent her a sleepy glare that they both knew had absolutely no feeling behind it.

Erik just laughed quietly before speaking. "You ready to head upstairs?" he asked and Charles gave him a drowsy sound of affirmation in response. "Alright, good night you all. Happy new year," he called out to the others before leading Charles from the room with an arm around his shoulder. As the telepath's eyes started to droop halfway down the hallway, Erik silently weighed the pros and cons of just scooping the man up and simply carrying him the rest of the way. He decided against it, not wanting to risk dropping Charles' dead weight as he scaled the stairs.

Still, Charles made it to their room in one piece and somewhat conscious, though it was all he could do to shuffle out of his clothes and collapse onto the bed, where Erik shortly joined him. Soon enough, Charles was settled back into Erik's arms, as he had spent a good portion of the day, not that he could complain. Charles could honestly say that it had been one of the happiest days he could remember.

"Happy new year, Erik," he mumbled into Erik's chest, quickly losing the tenuous grip on consciousness that he had maintained. _I love you._

"I love you too, Schatz," Erik replied softly, carding a soothing hand through Charles hair, coaxing them both into a relaxed sleep.

At the first feel of light trickling in from the window, Charles blinked lazily against the sun and settled down farther down into the sheets. He reached out to pull Erik closer to him and was immediately more alert when his searching hands came in contact with nothing more than air. It was a rare feat when Erik got out of bed earlier than Charles and there was always a reason.

Dragging himself from the warm blankets, Charles searched the room for any sign of Erik. Finding none, he remembered the last promise Erik had made the day before. Breakfast.

Charles grinned at the thought that Erik had remembered and at the idea that hotcakes were being made for him.

Throwing on a quick pair of sweatpants, Charles walked merrily from the bedroom and made his way down to the kitchen. Peering inside once he reached his destination, Charles confirmed his deduction. There was Erik, standing in front of the stove with a pan. Erik glanced over his shoulder and gave Charles a quick smile before turning back to whatever he was cooking. On the counter, there was already a couple large plates of eggs, toast, and other assorted breakfast foods.

Charles sundered over and snaked his arms around Erik's abdomen, careful as to not disturb the cooking process.

"Morning, love. I…" Whatever Charles had been about to say was cut off when he breathed in deeply, catching the strong smell of the bacon Erik was apparently frying. Charles was suddenly overcome in a fit of nausea and dropped is arms from where they were resting on Erik's waist. With a pitiful whimper, he darted from the room and for the restroom.

"Charles?" Erik called out fearfully as the telepath sprinted from the room. Concern for his lover blinding him from everything else, Erik abandoned the half-cooked breakfast and took off after Charles.

He found him in the nearby restroom, hunched over the toilet, his knuckles nearly white as they clutched achingly tight at the bowl. Erik winced as a shudder tore through Charles and the man retched violently.

"Charles," Erik breathed worriedly as he dropped to his knees next to Charles, using one hand to hold back the man's overgrown hair and the other to rub sooting circles on his back. He whispered comforting words as Charles gaged again, this time accompanied by a pained moan.

After a few long moments, Charles' vomiting had been reduced to dry heaves. He finally toppled over into Erik's waiting arms, exhausted and panting, his bangs sweat-slicked.

"You done for now?" Erik asked softly and Charles nodded weakly against Erik's shoulder. "Let's get you back upstairs," Erik said, his heart wrenching slightly at the miserable noise of consent Charles gave him.

Erik moved his hands to cradle Charles' knees and lifted him bridal style as gently as he could manage. Charles had a hand lightly fisted into Erik's shirt and Erik was careful not to jolt him to much. Eventually, Erik got them both back to their room and made his way over to Charles' side of the bed. He cautiously deposited Charles' shaky form and pulled up the covers to his chin. Reaching out to brush the still damp bangs from the pale face, he felt Charles lean heavily into the touch.

Placing a quick kiss to Charles' forehead, Erik stood up straight and turned to leave but was stopped when a clammy hand grabbed feebly at Erik's sleeve.

"Where are you going?" Charles asked from the bed, his voice a bit raspy but still surprisingly strong for someone who was so obviously sick, Erik noted.

"I'm just going to go finish up breakfast for the others and then I'll come back up here," he replied softly. Seeing Charles' doubtful look, he continued. "Get some rest while I'm downstairs. I'll be back in just a few minuets," he assured dulcetly.

Either content with the answer or just too tired to press any farther, Charles released his flimsy grip and let Erik go on his way.

While Erik was out of the room, Charles did indeed do what had been asked of him and let his eyes slip closed, dozing lightly. He stayed that way, curled up on his side under the warm blankets that Erik had set on top of him, until he heard the door open.

Pulling himself out from his nest of covers, he saw Erik circling around to the other side of the bed, carrying a tray with a plate and a glass of juice.

"Feeling any better?" Erik asked, sitting down and placing the tray of food between the two of them.

"Loads, actually," Charles answered as he shifted himself into a sitting position. He looked over the contents of the tray and saw a little bit of everything that Erik had cooked up. "Is any of this for me?" he asked hopefully, eying the stack of hotcakes.

"I brought enough for both of us, if you're feeling well enough to keep anything down," Erik responded, watching Charles carefully.

Truthfully, though Charles was quite hungry and really wanted to eat some of the hotcakes that Erik had made especially for him, the smell of the freshly cooked bacon on the tray was starting to make him feel a bit queasy again.

Charles' stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, drawing the attention of both men. Erik laughed and said, "I suppose that answers that."

Charles laughed along and blushed as he looked up sheepishly at Erik. "Yes, I would like some food but, um," he hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed with his weakness. "If you could do something with the bacon, I would appreciate it," he finished. At Erik's curious stare, he explained. "The smell is really bothering me," he said, not quite meeting Erik's eyes anymore.

Erik obliged immediately, snatching up the plate and taking it into the bathroom to throw it out. Charles felt a little bad about the request, knowing that Erik happened to love bacon, or any meat products for that matter. Still, he was exceptionally grateful that Erik ha been willing to give it up for Charles.

"Is that better?" Erik asked, setting the empty plate down on the bedside table and settling himself back under the sheets. He scooted in close so that they were and Charles rested is head against Erik's shoulder.

"Very much so. Thank you, love," Charles responded as he grabbed a fork and started picking happily at the stack of hotcakes.

They sat comfortably quiet for a few minuets, both eating contentedly, before Erik decided to speak again. "So, I take it you're feeling better," he began. When Charles only made a noise of agreement around the food he had in his mouth, Erik continued. "Charles, you said you would have Hank look things over if you started feeling sick," he told him.

"I did say that but I'm feeling fine now. There's no need to trouble Hank," Charles meeting Erik's gaze squarely.

"Charles," Erik breathed, exasperated. "You didn't get sick for no reason. At least go talk to him like you told me you would," he implored.

There was a brief moment were Charles considered continuing the argument and insisting that he would be fine without needing to pull Hank away from his experiments to play doctor but, in the end, he gave in with a sigh. Honestly, it wouldn't do any really harm to steal Hank away from his work for a few minuets for a quick check up. At least, it was the better option when compared to fighting with Erik over such a silly matter.

"Fine," Charles relented. "I'll pay him a visit this afternoon."

With that assurance, Erik visibly relaxed and they both finished their breakfast in an easy silence.

Charles gave three light knocks to the door of the room that had been long designated as Hank's permanent lab. When there was no immediate response, he considered just walking away and letting the situation be. After all, it was probably no more than a little bug that had already passed. Soon enough, though, the door opened to reveal a surprised Hank

"Um…Professor? What brings you here?" Hank asked, his blue face quizzical. It wasn't very common that Charles felt any need to disturb Hank while he was working on a project, as he usually was.

Good afternoon, Hank," Charles greeted with false cheer. He really didn't like having to be here. This was his home, his future school; he shouldn't need to go to his students for help with something so mundane as an upset stomach. It didn't really matter anymore, though, because he had told Erik he would and he was already here with Hank staring at him expectantly. "I know this isn't really your responsibility but I was hoping you could give me a little exam," he said. "I'd imagine that you know more about medicine than the rest of us," he added as an attempt as humor to lighten the tension.

"Eh, sure, I guess," Hank agreed, opening the door wider and stepping aside for Charles to follow him inside, which Charles did. The lab was packed with test tubes and beakers and a thousand other pieces of experiment equipment. It seemed that the wreckage that had been in the lab before everyone left for Cuba had long since been picked up and fixed back up.

Charles trailed after Hank until they reached the back, where he took a seat in the chair that was offered to him.

"So, what's going on, Professor?" Hank asked hesitantly. At least it didn't appear that Charles wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable with this situation, not that it was much of a consolation that he was making his student as uneasy as he was.

"Well, I was just feeling a bit ill before breakfast this morning," he told him. Suddenly remembering the previous day he added, "I also was having a dizzy spell yesterday."

Hank looked at him with a very neutral expression. "Are you sure this isn't just a normal strain of the flu or something like that?" he asked.

Charles laughed, realizing all over again how ridiculous all this fuss was. "No, Hank, I'm not sure at all," he admitted.

"I see," Hank said simply, now looking only just slightly irked that he was being bothered with something possibly as common as the flu. "Has there been anything else unusual that you've noticed lately," he asked, getting formalities out of the way.

"Well, ah," Charles began, all the more embarrassed at the thought of mentioning his insecurity to his student. "I have gained a little bit of weight recently, if that might have anything to do with it," he just barely more than mumbled out, blushing bright red at the confession.

"Weight gain?" Hank repeated, confused. "Well, that's not a symptom of the flu. It might just be coincidental but, if you wouldn't object, I would like to run a couple quick tests," Hank told him, to which Charles quick consented, just wanting to get this over with so that he could go back to Erik and tell him that he had been overreacting after all.

From there, Hank took a couple blood and saliva samples, which he immediately began running tests on while Charles snacked on a piece of bread that Hank gave him so that he wouldn't get dizzy from having his blood drawn.

A while later, Charles didn't know how long having lost track after the first hour, Hank walked back over with an baffled look on his face.

"I take it you found something," Charles prompted when Hank didn't instantly start talking like he normally did.

"It's certainly something," Hank scoffed then looked like he regretted saying it entirely. With Charles' pressing gaze, though, he carried on. "I did a few tests on the samples you gave me, a couple of which I was using to check hormone levels in case an imbalance could be causing this," he said, pausing for a moment to see if Charles was following. The professor was just watching him patiently, waiting for him to reach his point. "Um, the thing is, I checked several times and your hormones, um, they are consistent with those of a… well, those of a pregnant woman," hue finally got out, not looking Charles in the eye.

"I'm sorry?" Charles asked, waiting for a punchline or for Hank to exclaim something along he lines of 'just kidding!'

When Hank didn't say anything else, he took a quick peek inside his mind. It was swimming with a mixture of shock, awe, curiosity and a dozen other things that told Charles that the boy wasn't lying.

"I…I'm p-pregnant?" Charles stuttered, suddenly very glad that he was already sitting down in a chair, lest his legs give out. So much for this being as common as the flu.

"Well, I'm not positive on that. If you can come back tomorrow, I'll put together some more efficient equipment tonight so that we can know for sure," he tried to tell Charles but the telepath was already long gone, the shock blocking out everything else. Besides, Charles had already seen the near certainty in his mind.

Standing unsteadily, Charles started for the door, needing desperately some time to himself to think this over.

"Th-thank you, Hank, for all your trouble," he mumbled, taking his leave of the room and making his way back to his room as quickly as he can without collapsing in the stairs or in a hallway with his shaky steps.

He opened the door and was relieved to see that Erik wasn't inside waiting for him right now. It was probably for the best. Charles needed a little bit of time to himself to come to terms with this before he could tell Erik.

Oh, god. He needed to tell Erik. He needed to tell Erik that he was pregnant. He was pregnant. Erik had gotten him pregnant. He was pregnant with Erik's child.

He let himself collapse onto the bed, knowing his legs wouldn't be able to support him for much longer. His trembling arms moved to curl tightly around his swollen stomach as he started to hyperventilate. He didn't know how this was possible but something inside him knew that Hank was right. He was pregnant.

That was how Erik found him twenty minuets later, balled up with his arms holding his midsection protectively. Charles shifted his eyes up to see Erik walking toward the bed.

"How'd it go with Hank?" Erik asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Charles and placing a warm hand on Charles' shoulder. "You're shaking," he commented.

"I'm just a little cold," Charles lied weakly. "Hank has a theory but he'd like me to come back down tomorrow for a couple more tests to be sure," he told him.

"That's all he said? What kinds of tests does he still want to do that he couldn't get done today,"

"He didn't say and I didn't ask. He just said that he needed to build some new equipment before he could know for sure what was going on," Charles said. He felt a little guilty for leaving out the crucial bits of information that Erik deserved but he just wasn't ready to tell him yet, not when there was a chance they were wrong. "If you're not doing anything, I'd like for you to go with me," he told Erik before he could stop himself.

"For the tests? Of course I'll go if you want me there," Erik promised with a fond smile that was reserved for Charles and Charles alone.

"Thank you," Charles said quietly as he moved to rest his head on Erik's hip. He let out a relaxed sigh as some of the tension left him when he felt Erik's hand stroking through his hair.

"You look exhausted. Do you want any dinner?" Erik asked.

"No, I'm not hungry right now," Charles mumbled. He knew he should probably eat something but, with his nerved as they were at that point, he doubted he would be able to even get anything down.

Charles wasn't sure if Erik would let it go at that but, in the end, he just pushed himself the rest of the way onto the bed and sat back next to Charles. He probably just figured that Charles was feeling sick again, a misunderstanding that Charles was happy to let slid if it kept Erik from asking any more questions.

The next morning came far too quickly for Charles' liking. To make matters worse, it seemed that Erik's internal alarm clock had decided to chose that morning to wake him up only minuets after Charles had awoke. To top it off, once Erik had finally managed to convince Charles into leaving the bed no the promise that they could get back to it as soon as they were done in the lab, Charles felt the instant need to make a beeline for the bathroom.

Erik followed after him and caught the repeat performance of Charles emptying any contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl that he was hunched over. Walking over solemnly, Erik knelt next to Charles, holding back his hair and rubbing his back as he had done the day before.

Erik was kind enough not to say anything. He merely settled on pushing feelings of affection and comfort toward Charles' mind. Charles gave him a fatigued smile in return once he felt confident enough to sit up properly without puking all over himself, or Erik, like a drunk freshmen at their first university party.

_Thank you, my friend_, Charles pushed toward him, still not quite trusting himself to speak just yet.

"Can you stand?" Erik asked, looking ready to help Charles up if needed.

Nodding, Charles hesitantly pulls himself to his feet, begging his legs not to give way; he's been humiliated enough for one week.

Back on his feet, Charles walked back into the bedroom and quickly put on some suitable clothes. He was just beginning to realize that he would have to get some new outfits if Hank was right. God, he was pregnant. He needed maternity wear.

He settled on sweats again and, when he was dressed, he turned around to see Erik, unsurprisingly, wearing his slacks and a turtleneck. Charles briefly thought about the option of getting Erik a new wardrobe too. Not that Charles thought that the shirts didn't flatter him; the man would just do well with some diversity.

"You ready?"

Charles gave a quick nod, knowing the he really wouldn't have any luck in stalling this so he might as was just face it.

When they reached the lab and knocked on the door, Hank was there in an instant, ushering them inside quickly. No doubt, he was desperate to know the answer as well. Hank was always eager to do experiments and this must be a gold mine for him, or at least silver.

Hank went to the other side of the room to grab some machine on a cart and instructed Charles to sit on the table and take his shirt off. Erik looked a little irriated at the idea that Charles would need to be shirtless for this but said nothing. He even relaxed a bit when Charles sent him a thought of reassurance, though Charles was pretty sure that he was going to be the one needing reassuring fairly soon.

Charles took a hold of Erik's hand, which immediately gave him a encouraging squeeze, and shivered a little as Hank put gel on his abdomen.

"What is this thing, Hank?" Erik asked, still completely out of the loop.

"It's an ultrasound machine that I built last night. It'll tell us what we need to know."

"You built it?" Erik repeated, obviously impressed. "Of course you did."

As Hank moved the machine's wand around, a picture suddenly came into focus, drawing a shocked gasp from Charles.

"What is that?" Erik inquired, glaring skeptically at the thing that was apparently growing in Charles stomach.

"It's…" Hank started to answer but was quickly cut off but Charles' voice in his head.

_Can you tell the gender yet? _Charles asked.

Shifting the wand slightly for a different angle, Hank looked back at Charles. _It looks like a girl._

Charles laid back on the table, clutching Erik's hand tightly, needing something to ground him right then.

"What is it, Charles?" Erik asked, gripping back supportively. Charles could tell without looking into his mind that he was starting to get annoyed at not knowing what was going on so Charles figured he may as well out with it.

"That's your daughter, Erik.


	3. Reflections

Charles flinched visibly as he heard Erik slam the door to their room and hesitantly took a seat on the edge of the bed. He was still trembling a bit, as he had been since leaving Hank's lab nearly fifteen minuets ago, and he could see Erik shaking slightly from across the room for entirely different reasons.

"Did you know about this?" came Erik's voice, low and dangerous, more like a growl than the usual loving tone that was reserved for when they were alone.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Charles started to reply. "Hank had mentioned it as a theory," he said stiltedly, choosing each word carefully. This was quickly turning into an increasingly delicate situation and Charles knew that he needed to handle it vigilantly, lest he set Erik off.

"Why on Earth did you not mention this to me earlier, then!" came the more or less expected shouting. "You could have told me last night. You knew about this and you didn't even think to clue me in?" Erik exclaimed, sounding exasperated as he threw his hands into the air.

Charles tried to meet his gaze but couldn't quite manage it. Whether it was Erik or himself that was avoiding the eye contact, he couldn't even tell. "Of course I though about it. I just didn't want to worry you unnecessarily," he implored, giving up and dropping his focus to his lap, or rather his stomach.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Erik exploded. "You're pregnant and you didn't want to worry me? Are you insane?"

"I just wanted to tell you at a better time, when things were more certain," Charles insisted, finally looking back up and forcing their eyes to meet.

"And throwing it on me in front of Beast in the lab was that 'better time'? Is it even my kid, Charles? Is that why you didn't want to tell me?" Here came the accusations that should have also been expected. So much for dealing with the situation delicately and not getting feathers ruffled.

"Of course it's yours, unless I'm carrying the next miracle birth. I can't believe that you would dare suggest that I could possibly have been sleeping around with anyone else," Charles breathed out with a hurt look encompassing his features. The pain quickly gave way to fury, though. "And, if my memory serves, I believe that I told you this very morning as soon as I knew what hell was going on," Charles started to shout back.

He was certainly not going to fix anything by yelling back and, logically, he knew that full well. Still, anger tends to give way to logic in the heat of the moment. "Or did you forget that I know what's going on just as well as you do? I'm pregnant, for god's sake, Erik! I don't know what the right thing to do here is; I didn't exactly give 'being pregnant for dummies' a thorough read recently," he argued, getting more and more frantic with each word, the rage and fear and confusion that were all coursing through him making a maelstrom of his thoughts.

"Dammit, Charles, you're the genius geneticist here! Isn't it your job to know about these sort of things? You didn't even know this one basic fact about your own body?" Erik retorted.

"My _job_ is to run a school. And no, Erik, I can honestly say that I was unaware of the fact that my body was capable of doing something that no man has ever done in history before!" Charles replied as he leapt up from the bed, starting out in a calmer voice that he had been before once again escalating to a shout as the reality of the situation dawned on him all over again.

"You're a fucking telepath, Charles! You're already doing things that no man has ever done in history before," Erik threw back at him before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "All I wanted was for you to _tell_ me that you're having a goddamn baby. You could have at least given me a little warning," he reiterated.

"Why? So we could have had this conversation last night instead or because you wanted a better chance to take off and skip out?" It was the wrong thing to say and Charles knew it.

His first clue was the desk lamp that suddenly flew into the wall a second later.

Charles quickly threw a glance to the shattered shards on the floor before turning his shocked and incredulous expression at Erik, who was breathing heavily with his hands balled into fists.

"I need to leave now," Erik gritted out. "Before I say or do anything else that we both regret," he added as he grabbed his jacket off a nearby chair and stormed out of the bedroom before another word could escape either of them.

The stark silence, save for Charles' ragged and heavy breathing, was an overwhelming contrast to the yelling from seconds before and he couldn't stand it. He wanted Erik to come back so that he could shout at him more; he wanted Erik to come back so that he could apologize; he wanted Erik to come back so that he could make him apologize.

He just wanted Erik to come back.

So he did the only things he could; he fell back onto the bed, curled into a ball around his stomach, and started to cry. He lay there for so long that he didn't bother trying to keep track of the time. Erik didn't come back and he just lay there hating Erik for it, hating himself for not being able to bring himself to go after him, hating himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, hating himself for being pregnant, and hating the stupid, raging pregnancy hormones that were just making everything ten times worse than they already were.

At some point, Raven came in with tea. By that time, he had calmed down enough to accept the cup graciously and even managed to get over half of it down before he resigned to ushering his sister out of the room, insisting that he really just wanted to rest and to be alone for a while. Reluctantly, she consented.

Putting the not-yet-empty cup of tea on the bedside table, Charles buried himself deep into his bedsheets and gave vain attempts to will himself to sleep.

The bitterly cold January wind cut into Erik's face and pounded in his ears, the sound even more deafening than the roar of the engine of the motorcycle that he had procured from the garage. He wasn't even bothering to wear a helmet; he doubted his concentration was shot so far as to actually going to crash the steel-metal death trap. Besides, even if he did manage to land himself in a ditch, he was so blinded with fury after his fight with Charles, he probably wouldn't even notice the pain and injuries.

All he could think clearly about was how badly that entire conversation had gone and how quickly he had let his own emotions escalate out of control. He knew that he wasn't the only one and he wasn't entirely to blame for the whole situation but still. He also knew that he could've handled that much better, or al least better than a bratty four year old.

He spent several hours on the road and hardly went anywhere, going up and down the same stretches of asphalt, never even leaving the Westchester area. He didn't even want to go anywhere, just to get out to where he could think alone without that infuriatingly and insufferably endearing telepath in his mind and in front of his face. So, he spent the entire afternoon driving as fast as the bike would submit to until the empty fuel tank light started flashing in his face, finally breaking him out of his reverie.

Glancing down at the reading, Erik knew that that he really couldn't put things off any longer. It was already getting dark and that meant that it was getting nearly unbearably cold. Though Erik had remembered to grab his jacket in his fit of anger back at the mansion, one jacket was hardly a match for a mid-January night in upstate New York.

Tightening his grip on the handlebars, Erik braced himself for whatever was to come and turned the bike around. Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, Erik was only minuets away from the mansion, not giving him a large allotment of the desired time to prepare himself to face Charles again, and was pulling up into the main garage before the sun was even fully set.

He was granted a little more time before confronting Charles, however, when he was assaulted in the entryway before he could even slip out of his jacket, much less escape upstairs.

"I don't know what you did or said to him but you need to fix it," came a barely subdued voice from the living room doorway. Looking over, Erik found himself face to face with the blue scaled for of Raven, who wasn't even trying to waste concentration on her blonde form when that energy could be much better spent being pissed. In all honesty, Raven had been spending less and less time in her regular human form but, still, the majestic yet frightening exotic complexion was much more intimidating now than it usually was.

"I take it you talked to him," Erik commented, favoring a nonchalant demeanor despite actually fearing for his life just slightly. "What did he tell you?" he inquired.

"Absolutely nothing. Hence why I don't know how exactly you managed to screw up this time and hence why I'm not stashing your dead body just yet," Raven replied pointedly with a dark glint in her eyes. "Look, I know two things. One, I know that Charles can be a tactless moron any day of the year and I have no idea what's going on between you guys right now. But, two, I know that, when I went up to see him earlier, his eyes were red and his pillow was wet."

Erik's chest tightened at that. Had he really been so harsh as to make Charles cry?

"So, like I said, I don't know what happened and, frankly, I don't want to know. All I want is for you to go up there and tell him that you didn't just walk out on him," she told him, not looking at all like she was downplaying it in the least.

Without another word, Erik turned and hurried up the stairs as swiftly as he could without breaking into an all-out sprint.

Coming up to the door of the bedroom that he and Charles shared, Erik wedged it open carefully, trying to appear as calm and relaxed as possible so as to not work Charles up again.

When Erik entered the room, it took him a brief moment to spot Charles; only the man's mop of unruly brown hair was visible from where it was poking out from the blanket that Charles had curled tightly under, looking much smaller than a man in his late twenties.

As Erik started walking toward the bed, Charles peeked out from under the covers, his blue eyes shining even brighter than usual from lingering tears.

"Erik? Is that you?" asked Charles in a broken and quivering voice that made Erik hate himself, knowing that he was the reason such as poignant sound was coming out of his lover.

"It's me," Erik confirmed.

"You came back," Charles breathed out, as though he could hardly believe the statement could be true.

"Of course I came back," Erik said incredulously. "Charles, did you seriously think that I was going to abandon you like this?"

It stung. Regardless of whether it was the heightened hormones raging in Charles' body that was making him act so irrationally or not, Erik was genuinely hurt by the notion that Charles would think so little of him, think that he would abandon the man he loved with their daughter over a petty arguement.

On the other hand, the look that Charles was giving him now seemed just as pained as Erik felt.

"I-I'm sorry. You were just so angry that I didn't know what to think," Charles started frantically. "Erik, I don't know what's going on any more than you and I don't know what to do. I'm sorry," he said again before Erik cut him off.

"Stop," Erik interrupted quitely, putting a hand on Charles' shoulder and squeezing lightly in hopes of giving the man at least a little comfort. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier," he said softly.

Charles gave a humorless scoff before replying. "We both said some things that we really shouldn't have, my love. You were probably right; I really should have told you sooner, rather than just throwing it on you without warning, and in front of Hank, no less" he replied, reflected remorsefully on his on poor course of action.

"Maybe, but you were just doing what you thought was best. Whether it was or wasn't really doesn't matter. Still, I shouldn't have lost my temper or run out like that. I just needed a little time to clear my head and wrap my mind around this," Erik assured him.

"Well, I can hardly fault you for that. After all, I spent the entirety of last night completely freaking out about all of this. You only took a few hours. Compared to my own reaction, yours was very fair," Charles said with a half-felt laugh that was clearly meant to relieve the tension.

"I really didn't intend to keep it a secret from you for long," Charles carried on. Erik tried again to stop him but Charles just held up a hand. "You have to understand Erik. I didn't want to tell you something like that and end up being wrong about it. I wasn't lying when I said that Hank wanted to do that ultrasound this morning to be positive that I really was pregnant. It would have hardly been fair to you to give you a that kind of scare for nothing. That's why I wanted you to accompany me to the exam. I didn't want to hide anything from you, love, I just wanted to be sure before I put a weight like this on your shoulders," Charles insisted as he pulled himself out from under the blankets to face Erik more fully, the earnest pleading that was playing on his face plain to see.

"I believe you, Charles," Erik simply said quietly before motioning for Charles to scoot over. As soon as he obliged to the request, Erik kicked off his shoes, settled onto the bed, and wrapped his arms securely around Charles, an embrace that Charles quickly curled up into.

"So, what now?" Charles asked hesitantly. He didn't really want to open this can of worms so soon, particularly after they finally seemed to have resolved the last problem, but it needed to happen eventually. Besides, the last time Charles put off an important conversation, it had resulted in Erik running out of the house and himself sniveling under his blanket thinking that he had been left alone.

"Well, I suppose the first question is what we're going to do about the baby," Erik mussed, causing Charles to pull back suddenly, just enough to look Erik in the eyes, and stare at him anxiously.

"What do you mean? Aren't we going to keep her?" Charles questioned, starting to panic slightly, though he couldn't deny the warm feeling that bubbled up when Erik called her a baby, rather than something like 'fetus' or just 'it.'

"If that's what you want," Erik started to say.

"What do you want, Erik? This isn't something that I can do or decide on my own," Charles stressed.

"And you won't have to. Charles, we started this together and we're going to go through with it together, no matter which road we take," Erik assured him, pulling Charles back against his chest and trailing a hand up and down his back.

"Please answer my question, Erik. What do you want?" Charles questioned again.

Erik went quiet for a moment as he thought about that. Honestly, this wasn't a matter that he had ever planned for. Family was a prospect that had been stolen from him time and time over long ago. The only idea of family that he hadn't written off entirely was Charles and he was still getting used to even that.

But, now, here was the opportunity for him to have a family again. He could have a family with Charles. There was certainly something attractive about that. Besides, on another not, he couldn't bear to steal this child away from Charles when he was so clearly already so enamored with her.

This was their daughter and she would stay that way.

"I want this," Erik finally said, realizing exactly how much he meant it as the words left his mouth. "I want to do this."

"Really?" Charles asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up and a smile starting to creep up onto his face.

Erik nodded and leaned in to bring their lips together, sending Charles the feelings of contentment and anticipation that were already overflowing in his mind.

Even though both Charles and Erik were more than content with the prospect of spending the entire remainder of the night in their bed curled around each other and discussing plans in between moments of lapsing into kisses or cuddles. It was only a couple hours later, though, that they were interrupted…

…when a loud growl ripped through the silence they had temporarily fallen into.

"Was that your stomach?" Erik asked skeptically, unable to restrain himself from emitting an amused chuckle at both the situation itself and the mortified face Charles was making in response to it.

Smacking him on the arm in retaliation, Charles spoke up. "Well, excuse me for being a bit famished. I haven't eaten all day," he argued with a mock glare. "I was a bit preoccupied," he added pointedly.

Erik quickly sobered up at that comment. Of course Charles hadn't exactly been in the mood for snacks earlier in the day; he'd been too busy thinking he'd been abandoned after being knocked-up by his boyfriend.

"Let's get you some food, then. After all, you are eating for two now and we can't have wither of you going hungry," Erik said, trying to brush away the more negative aspects of the conversation. "Anything you want in particular?"

An exceptionally brief moment of thought passed and then Charles answered. "I could really go for some of those delicious hotcakes you made yesterday," he requested hopefully, his eyes lighting up at the idea.

Erik chuckled lightly again before nodding. "Alright. Hotcakes it is," he consented easily as he untangled himself from Charles and the mess of bedding that had wrapped itself around them both, ensnaring them in a knot with one another.

"Thank you, love," Charles called out before Erik could leave the room. Turning back to respond, Erik saw the look of pure adoration he was being given and any words he might have been planning to answer with dried instantly on his lips as similar feelings of affection welled up inside of him.

After allowing himself a good moment to savor the sight and feeling of Charles' warmth so openly on display, Erik settled for nodding again and managed a lingering "I love you" before leaving to make the breakfast dinner.

"I take it everything's all better now?"

Erik looked up from the pan he had on the stove, which was covered in sizable circles of hotcake batter, to see Raven standing in the doorway staring at him expectantly with her arms crossed.

"What is it with you and assaulting me in doorways?" Erik chided. Seeing the start of a glare creeping up on Raven's face, he dropped the joke. "Pretty much. At least, as better as they're going to get right now," he conceded. He couldn't lie and say that things were all peachy again, but they were certainly not where they were a few hours ago; at least the argument had been cleared up.

"Hmph, I suppose I can settle for that for now," Raven relented, letting her defenses and her arms drop. "I don't figure you're going to tell me what big secret is going on between you two, though," she rebuked.

"Charles can tell you when he's ready to. It's not my place to say," Erik informed her, feeling a little bad the he was sicking an annoyed and bemused Raven on his own lover; no one deserved the wrath that Raven could draw up when she desired.

Raven nodded the response, though it seemed begrudgingly.

"So, what are you up to now, then? I would figure that the two of you would be busy having insane make-up sex for the rest of the night," Raven snarked, giving Erik a smug look when he choked briefly on the suddenly uncomfortable air. Was this seriously supposed to be the sweet and innocent sister that Charles insisted on bragging about?

"Ignoring the fact that Charles and I's love life is nothing of your concern," Erik started, ignoring the not so subtle 'you wish' that Rave scoffed. "If you really must know, there was no fight that needed make-up sex, as you so articulately put it," Erik all but sneered.

"You keep telling yourself that. The entire mansion heard you to going at it this morning but, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, for all that you and Charles actually sleep," Raven said, not yet done with throwing out jibes.

'Alright, enough about my sex life with Charles. He's your brother, for god's sake! Why would you want to think of him like that?" Erik scolded.

"God, you're even starting to sound like him," Raven commented.

"Anyways! I only came down to make Charles some dinner since he hasn't eaten all day," Erik finally managed to inform.

"Yeah, he can get like that when he's distracted. When he was still working on his thesis, I even had to remind him to brush his teeth," she told him. "That's your job now, though," she added with a teasing laugh.

Looking back at the stove, Erik groaned when he saw the mess that the food had become in the pan. "Great, now I've managed to burn this batch," he grumbled as he moved to dump the charred remains of the hotcakes in the garbage can.

"Don't you think you've made enough already?" Raven called over to him, staring at the already sizable stack of hotcakes on a plate on the counter. "I mean, jeez, I get that Charles is hungry but you've pretty much made enough to feed the whole mansion. And, considering Alex and Sean's eating habits, that's really saying something," Raven commented with a skeptical look at the stack of hotcakes.

Erik would forever deny the light blush that snuck its way onto his face. He averted his gaze from Raven to the pile of food on the plate. There was no way that Charles was going to finish all of it, even if he was eating for two.

Moving back to the counter, he grabbed the plate, mumbling something that sounded to Raven suspiciously like an admittance that she was right.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Raven asked smugly, more than willing to push her luck.

"Goodnight, Raven," Erik called pointedly, flicking off the stove, putting the pan in the sink, a leaving the room before she could have a chance to taunt him any more.

When Charles blinked his eyes open, squinting against the offending sunlight that always managed to filter in no matter how thick of blinds or curtains he bought, he was pleased to realize that Erik was still situated next to him under the sheets.

Charles loved waking up like this; most days, by the time Charles was dragging his pregnant self out of bed, Erik was already well under way with his day and taking care of things such as breakfast. As much as Charles greatly appreciated all of the considerations, he couldn't say that it wasn't nice to just wake up and laze contentedly next to his boyfriend for a while.

Snaking an arm around his swollen belly, Charles cuddled closer to Erik and curled further into his warm embrace. It was both relaxing and comforting to be able to lay like this, feeling contented and safe in the arms of the man he knew loved him. By the next time they would be lying like this, which out no doubt be that night, Charles knew that he would be exhausted from the day, as he always was nowadays; seeing as he would no doubt be nearly delirious with exhaustion, he wouldn't be able to simply bask in the joy of being held.

Of course, as a fact that Charles knew he could count on, Erik didn't sleep in for much longer. Soon enough, Erik was tightening his loving hold slightly, just enough to let Charles know that he was awake, before pushing himself up onto his elbows to look at Charles.

"Morning, Schatz," Erik said, his voice only just barely husky from sleep.

"Good morning, love," Charles replied, tilting forward to steal a quick peck, which soon turned into a lingering kiss, just long enough to barely satisfy the both of them while still leaving them wanting.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" Erik questioned, suspiciously eying the unopened pack of saltine crackers that was still on the bedside table as he had put them the night before.

Charles reached behind him and grabbed the snack, opening them to shove the crackers in his mouth trenchantly. Despite his subtly fuss, though, Charles knew that Erik's insistence was well-founded. At five-months pregnant, the bouts morning sickness that had plagued him several weeks ago was finally beginning to taper off so long as he had a something small to eat before getting on about his day.

Erik had read in some pregnancy book that saltine crackers worked well for that.

Charles swallowed and spoke around the remaining checker pieces. "Happy now?" he mumbled over the now soggy saltines with a teasing smile.

"Very," Erik answered with a soft smile, reaching out to wipe away the crumbs that had stuck to the corners of Charles' mouth. Charles grinned at the ministration; no matter how much good he had seen in Erik early in their relationship, he hadn't yet gotten over just how endearing his lover had become in the last five months.

"We should go downstairs soon. Raven insisted on making breakfast today and she'll never let us live it down if we miss it," Erik said, pushing himself up into a full sitting position and moving to help Charles do the same even though he was perfectly capable of managing that much on his own.

"Oh, did she? Is that the only reason I had the pleasure of sleeping in with you this morning?" Charles chided playfully, enjoying how Erik's hand lingered on his shoulder for another moment after Charles was already upright.

"Perhaps, and, if you're good, maybe you can expect the same tomorrow," Erik taunted back, though he was only half joking about being good. It wasn't uncommon for someone in the mansion to chastise Charles for trying to do too much during the day.

Sighing wistfully, Charles swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed on the slippers left there that Erik had gotten for him a few days earlier. Erik quickly joined him in only his pajama pants while Charles was simply donned in his usual pinstriped sleepwear. They had both long since abandoned the habit of dressing up just to go downstairs and everyone else in the mansion had long since abandoned caring, especially once Charles stopped fitting into most of his old clothes before Erik took him shopping for new ones.

As it were, the matter of dress wasn't the only thing that the inhabitants of the Xavier mansion cared little about; they had taken to the news much better than either Charles or Erik could have ever dared to hope. Of course, there had been a few days of shock and, on Raven's part, vexation which quacked morphed into a sense of encompassing overprotectiveness, but they had taken the strange turn of events quite well, all things considered.

"Alright, love, let's go," Charles said as he pushed himself onto his feet, looking back at Erik with a soft love.

The rest of the day carried on in the comfortable routine that had settled over the last three months. The breakfast that Raven had prepared was impressively satisfying. There followed instructional courses for the younger mutants, save for Hank seeing as he had already graduated college, that was led by Charles, Erik, and Azazel interchangeably. Then came lunch, made by either Erik or Janos. After that was training much like they had all started out with when first coming to the mansion more than five months ago; Charles was only allowed to participate minimally in these activities, which he might be more bothered about if Erik wasn't so correct in saying that it was for his own health.

By the time dinner came around, Charles was so exhausted that the lovely pasta that Erik had made for him practically tasted like cardboard, which was unfortunate since he normally loved Erik's cooking.

About halfway through the meal, Erik seemed to catch on the the fact that Charles was doing little more than pushing his food around the plate.

"Charles, are you feeling alright?" he asked with a worried crease in his brow.

"Mmm, I'm fine, love, just a bit tired," Charles mumbled in return. Immediately, Erik was on his feet and putting the leftovers in the fridge.

"Well, let's start getting ready for bed, then," Erik said as he made his way back to the table to help Charles to his feet.

Charles nodded in thanks to Erik and allowed him to lead the pair of them up the stairs leading to their room. By the time that they had reached the top of the staircase, Charles was predominantly supporting his weight on Erik's shoulder and Erik was looking down at him with a concerned gaze.

Finally, they reached the bedroom and crossed its threshold to the bed. Erik deposited Charles gently on top of the bed, earning him a soft and contented moan as Charles laid back into the pillows.

"What's wrong, schatz?" Erik asked, catching the wince that Charles gave as he pulled himself fully onto the bed and shuffled himself out of his clothes, save for his undershorts and shirt.

"It's nothing, really, love. My feet are just sore is all," Charles assured him as he reached around his belly to rub gingerly at his swollen feet, letting out a soft whine at the tenderness of them.

"Is that all?" Erik breathed out, half a sentence, half a chuckle. "Why didn't you just tell me. Here, let me see," he instructed, taking a seat on the bed and pulling Charles' feet onto his lap without waiting for any response.

"Erik, you don't need to do that; it's really not necessary," Charles protested weekly and made a motion to move his feet away but they were firmly held in place.

"I know that," Erik said with a smile, meeting his eyes. "But I want to."

With that, there was no more delay and Charles allowed Erik to proceed. He wasn't about to tell him that he didn't want his help; quite the contrary, a foot massage from Erik's well-calloused hands sounded absolutely heavenly right now.

At the first feel of warm fingers digging pleasantly into the aching arch of his foot, Charles couldn't stop the soft cry of relief that escaped him. Erik paused to look up at him, hints of worry radiating off of him.

"Please, don't stop," Charles urged with a motion for him to continue. Erik quickly obliged him with a small chuckle.

Soon enough, nearly all of the tension in Charles was lost to Erik's touch. He relaxed into the pillows behind him, closed his eyes, and savored the feeling. It was quite; the only sounds were the occasional faint moan that Charles would let in response to a particularly good knead.

After what felt like forever, Erik pulled his hands away; Charles was so far gone that he couldn't even protest to cessation.

"I take it you enjoyed that?" Erik commented; Charles could practically hear the smug grin in his voice.

Opening his eyes, Charles responded. "Please promise me that I can expect this again sometime in the future," he requested.

Erik barked out a laugh and smiled at him. "Just let me know the next time you feel like you need it," Erik told him gently before turning a bit more serious. "You're going through a lot right now, Charles. I know that there's not a lot that I can do about it but I want to do what I can and I can do this much, at least," he said.

Charles gazed at him lovingly for a moment, just taking in how lucky he was to have such a considerate boyfriend. After that moment, he patted the space on the bed next to him.

"There's another thing you can do for me," Charles started. "I'd really love for you to join me over here. Snuggling up next to a pillow isn't quite the same as cuddling up next to you," he insinuated.

With a grin, Erik pushed himself all the way onto the bed and moved over next to Charles. He wrapped one arm around his shoulder and used the other to rest his hand on Charles' swollen stomach, stroking it lightly with his thumb.

"We should start thinking about a name," Erik mumbled idly, staring down in absolute wonder at the bump that was his daughter. It was something they had mentioned in passing from time to time over the past few months but had never really sat down to discuss it in earnest.

"Yes, I suppose we should," Charles, shifting around so that he could move his hand to rest on top of Erik's. "We also need to figure out how we're going to do this," he added. "We can't expect Hank to help with the actual labor, if that's what will even happen. Not only is he not experienced in childbirth, but I don't think that he would exactly be comfortable with the request nor is it really appropriate for me to ask my student to deliver my baby," Charles carried on.

The matter had crossed Erik's mind but he hadn't really wanted to linger too long on such a delicate subject. In all honesty, he was still wrapping his mind around the fact that a delivery was really going to have to happen. He wanted to take this in baby steps, no pun intended.

"You know," Erik started, an possible consideration coming to mind. "Azazel spent a lot of time with Shaw before we delta with him. Surely there must have been some point in time where they needed medical attention and I really doubt that Herr Dokter qualified," Erik mused.

"That's a very good point, love," Charles replied, thinking cautiously about this. He wasn't exactly too keen on the idea of employing anyone that Shaw had deemed acceptable, though, on the other hand, he had taken on Azazel and Janos. Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea at all. At the very least, Shaw would have been sure to have used someone competent and, really, it wasn't like they had a lot of options in that matter. They couldn't very well search the phonebook for mutant specialist doctors. "I'll speak with Azazel tomorrow and perhaps we can see someone in the next few days."

"Sounds good to me," Erik confirmed before shifting the conversation back to what it had been. "So, about the name situation…"

"Mmm, I'm tired, love. Perhaps we can discuss it tomorrow night?" Charles asked, nuzzling into Erik's chest and peering up at him with wide, blue, puppy-dog eyes.

Erik chuckled and pulled Charles closer to him. "Alright, schatz."

Erik waved his hand to shut off the lights and pulled the comforter up to cover the pair of them. In the combined warmth of the blanket and Erik's embrace, Charles was fast asleep in his lover's arms.

As it turned out, Azazel was aware of a doctor that would be willing to help Charles and Erik and, as luck would have it, was fairly close. Though, Azazel had offered to take them there himself by way of teleprotation, Charles had insisted that it wasn't necessary; Erik was more than willing to drive them. As much as he appreciated the offer, he had no idea how a developing fetus would respond to such a activity.

By that afternoon, the two of them were situated in the car and on their way to Massachusetts to meet with a Dr. Roache. Erik had taken to the wheel and Charles was curled up in the passenger seat with a blanket tucked around him. Even though it was early April, it was still exceptionally cold in New York and the pregnancy already had his internal thermostat on the fritz.

"You're awfully quiet today," Erik finally spoke up after nearly half an hour of no words from either of them.

After a moment of hesitation, Charles sighed and responded. "I'm just nervous, Erik," he said. "We hardly know anything about this man and we're going to trust him with the care of our daughter?" Charles asked.

Erik glanced over at him pensively. "Charles," he breathed out. "You're right; we don't know anything about this man. However, you do know everything about me and I trust that you can trust me not to allow harm to come to you from this man," Erik said seriously.

Charles smiled graciously back at him. "I trust you, love."

"I love you, Charles."

"I love you too, Erik."

Within a few hours, Erik was pulling the car into a parking lot of a local hospital in Massachusetts. Putting the car in gear and unbuckling himself, he leaned over to shake Charles' shoulder. The younger man had fallen asleep in the second hour of the trip and had looked so peaceful, Erik hadn't had the heart to wake him.

"Mmm, are we there yet?" Charles mumbled sleepily as he blinked his eyes open.

"Yes, are you ready for this?" Erik asked.

"As ready as I'll every be," Charles replied, unbuckling his own seatbelt and maneuvering himself out of the car. Erik quickly came around the side of the car, ready to offer any assistance needed, and snuck an arm around Charles' waist and placed a short kiss to his temple.

"It'll be fine, Charles. Let's just go in and get this over with," Erik said, steering them toward the entrance.

The hospital was small but, walking inside, they could tell that it was clearly well enough kept. Charles took a seat in one of the empty waiting room chairs that were fairly uncomfortable, which was apparently one thing hospitals could always be counted on to have in common, while Erik spoke with the receptionist. The lobby was crowded but not completely full.

Charles glanced around, hoping to find at least an interesting magazine to occupy his wandering mind with, to no avail. Soon enough, though, Erik joined him in the seat next to his.

"Dr. Roache will be able to see us in about twenty minuets," he informed.

"Fair enough," Charles responded with a nod. "If you don't mind, then, I'm going to use the restroom since there's time. We've been in a car for nearly five hours and that's about four hours longer than my pregnant bladder cares for," he joked, though in all seriousness.

He walked over to the receptionist, a young blond woman who looked much like Raven used to and was anxiously awaiting the end of her shift.

"Excuse me, which way to the restroom?" he asked polietly.

"Straight down the right hallway. It's next to the staircase," she said pleasantly enough despite her eagerness to leave.

"Thank you kindly," Charles said, quickly excusing himself down the hall.

As he pushed open the restroom door, he saw someone duck behind a corner. He thought it strange for a moment and considered going over to see if something was going on but decided against it. The matter wasn't his business and, since he had started to spend most of his time around more people than just his sister, he had tried very hard to work on 'boundary issues,' as Moira called it. Besides, his bladder had already waited five hours; it wasn't going to hold for much longer.

A few minuets later, relieved and much more comfortable, Charles exited the bathroom to head back over to the waiting area, and to Erik.

That was, until he came face to face with a sickeningly familiar smirk standing across the hall from him.

"Well, well, Charlie," the grin started. Charles didn't want the grin to start this; whenever the grin started something, the body it was attached to always finished it. "What are you doing so far from the mansion? If I remember right, you used to spend all day in night hiding away in your room from the monsters in the closet, or rather, in the hallways," the grin sneered.

Charles' left hand shook at his side as it gripped at the hem of his pants while his right hand snaked around his midsection protectively.

"C-Cain," his mouth stammered mechanically. Some part of him, the distracted part that was apparently not aware of how crucial of a situation this was, hoped that Cain hadn't caught the slight stutter.

Every response was mechanical; the instinctive step back that he took, the tension that flared up in his muscles, the unprovocative positioning of his hands, the submissive shrinking of his stature. Despite that he logically knew that he was no longer the small, weak, prepubescent boy that had little control over his talents and even less control over his life, that logic was quickly overridden by the terror that he felt for this man, that body, that grin.

"What brings you here?" Charles managed to ask. "I thought that you went overseas," he continued, still not quite comprehending that he was actually here.

"That doesn't mean that I had to stay there, Charlie. You sound so disappointed to see me," Cain responded. "That hurts," he added in cruel mockery.

"It's just a bit of a surprise," Charles said, trying to play off his discomfort. "A small town Massachusetts clinic hardly seems to be your scene," he commented, knowing that hospital volunteer work wasn't exactly Cain Marko's cup of tea.

"And what about you?" Cain retorted, sidestepping the question. "A tiny place like this is a bit out of your way from Westchester."

"Not that it concerns you, Cain, but I'm here to see a specialist," Charles said and immediately knew that he was taking this down a dangerous road.

"A specialist, huh? For what? That impressive beer belly you've got going on," Cain sneered before getting a glimpse of understanding flashing in his eyes. The man had never been the genius that Charles was but he was certainly not dense.

Charles threw a glance down the hall, wondering what his chances were in making it back to Erik before Cain would catch him. Not likely, he figured. Cain had always been faster, stronger, and much more brutal.

Before Charles could say anything else, Cain spoke up again; his tone was no longer savagely harassing but dark and menacing. "This is more of that freak stuff you had hanging around you when we were kids, isn't it," he said, his gaze dropping to Charles' stomach, which the latter was still holding tightly. "That's no beer belly there, is it?"

The trembling in Charles' hands had spread to his knees and he wanted nothing more than to bolt out the front entrance with Erik in toe to return to the mansion, the meeting with the doctor be damned.

"Cain, I don't know where you've been all these years or what you've been up to and it's really not my business," Charles said, taking another step to the side, still hoping that he could slip away. "I, however, am here for an important matter which I must attend to," Charles prattled, taking a few more small steps to the left.

"You always were an arrogant little bitch," Cain growled, moving forward about two feet in a single step, now practically hovering over Charles and rooting him to the floor in fear.

"Cain, please don't start this here," Charles spluttered, his heart beating erratically. That couldn't be good for the baby, a part of him thought idly.

"I'm not starting anything. I'm just finishing what was begun about twenty years ago. I don't know who started it, me, my bastard father, your drunk ass mother, or you're screwed up self. All I know is I'm ending it," Cain told him.

Charles glanced behind him quickly, hoping to see either a wall he could lean against, whether to support himself because his knees were about to give or to get further away from his step-brother by even an inch he didn't know, or another hall he could make a break down. Instead, he saw the staircase and felt his right foot hit the ledge.

_Erik!_ he called out, the adrenaline rush from the terror reminding him who he was...

Seconds too late.

"It's about time someone knocked you off your damned high horse," Cain snarled, throwing a inhumanly strong hand into Charles' left shoulder.

Suddenly, the ground was ripped rum under his feet and Charles felt nothing but the overwhelming panic all around him for a fraction of a second.

After that came pain.

Inconceivable amounts of pain.

After that, he heard feet storming down the stairs and some still almost rational part of him begged anyone who would listen that it wouldn't be Cain. Some small portion of his day was to be fortunate as the approaching figure didn't seem to be attempting to harm him.

Charles heard shouting that was nearly being drowned out by the sound of harsh sobs. He didn't know for sure who was crying but, judging by the sharp ache in his throat, he guessed that it might very well be him.

Soon, though, there were hands on him, all over him. Charles tried to push them away, which only made the pain worse, but the only semi-coherent thoughts that he could make were only surrounded with the desire to protect himself and his daughter so he kept fighting.

He fought the hands until finally, when he gave in to the call of the warm and refreshing hands that pulled at him and sang a tempting song about the bliss of the dark unconsciousness, there was nothing.

Erik thought about going with Charles to the restroom in case anything happened or he needed any assistance. In the end, though, he decided against it. This was, after all, a hospital. The worst even Charles should be able to manage would be a prick on the finger with a sterile needle.

That assumption would haunt him for years to come.

The first hint that should have tipped him off that something was wrong was how long Charles had been gone. Even Charles, with his squirrel-sized bladder, didn't take ten minuets but Erik had attributed it to the pregnancy factor.

He did catch on to the situation when his mind was suddenly filled with Charles' voice screaming his name in a terrified tone, a sound that would also haunt him.

Erik let to his feet so quickly that his chair fell backwards, drawing the startled attention of the receptionist, but he didn't care about that, about anything other than Charles, as he bolted down the right hallway he had seen Charles take.

He passed a large beefy man running in his direction, and the direction of the exit by extension, but paid him little mind, there being no more room as his mind was filled with concern, fear, and Charles.

He almost ran passed the staircase in his search for his boyfriend but was struck by a horrible thought. Back-peddling and looking down the stairs, the thought turned into a horrible reality as he saw Charles lying at the bottom, shaking and crying.

And bleeding.

Erik descended the stairs three at a time and was at his lovers side in only a couple seconds. He was about to gather his sobbing form into his arms but halted when he realized just how damaged he looked, both his right leg and wrist jutting out at sickening angles.

"Nurse! Someone!" he shouted urgently. "Anyone!" he screamed, his voice cracking in the fierce desperation.

The first thing that Charles became aware outside of the darkness was the incessant beeping coming from his left. The second was the terrible pain in his chest and the stiffness of his right arm and leg. Finally, much more pleasant than the first two comprehensions, was the realization that a soft mop of hair was resting on his left bicep, keeping vigil.

Turning his head and wincing at the crick that had developed in his neck, besides the view he had of the window that told him that it was now well into the night, he saw Erik, apparently in a light sleep. Charles smiled despite himself, despite the pain…

…but the smile faltered when he remembered exactly where he was and why.

Shifting, a move that drew a small groan of pain from him, he saw that his leg was bound in thick wrappings while his wrist was in a cast; he could also feel heavy bandaging around his chest.

Adjusting himself back as he was to look at Erik, Charles saw that the man had stirred and was starring at him.

"You're awake," Erik choked out lamely, starring at him with an indescribable expression of relief, love, anxiety, and shame and tones of thought to match.

Charles nodded and croaked out, "how bad." He was surprised at just how terrible and cracked his voice sounded. He was glad that Erik seemed to be able to understand what he wanted to know and he wouldn't have to explain further.

"Broken wrist, fractured femur, and three cracked ribs," Erik said, standing and turning away briefly to grab a bowl that had been left on the bedside table. "Here, open your mouth. The nurse doesn't want you to swallow anything close to solid yet so suck on these ice chips," he instructed him, holding one to Charles lips.

Charles parted his lips, accepting the offer gratefully. His throat felt considerably better. At least part of him did.

Just looking at Erik, he could tell how hard his lover was trying to keep himself calm and composed. If he were anyone else, he would be fooled by the act and think that this was a man who just happened to be able to take a tough situation. But, to Charles, who knew Erik almost better than he knew himself, it was the little things that gave him away. It was the tension in his back as he was ready to spring. It was the way his eyes darted around the room, never looking at Charles for long, both keeping watch for anything and anyone else that could be a threat and avoiding having to meet Charles' gaze. It was angry flare in his eyes, so different from the usual loving light that they held, so much more dangerous.

"Come sit with me, love," Charles said to Erik, who hadn't yet reclaimed his seat next to the bed. He held out his left hand but his reach fell just short of where Erik was standing. Erik reached out, though, in response and took Charles' hand in his, sitting back down as he did. Charles could feel the slight tremble in the grip.

"What the hell happened, Charles," Erik breathed out, suddenly sounded as exhausted as Charles felt, as he dropped his head to rest his brow against Charles' knuckles and tightening his grasp as he did.

"Please, Erik, I really don't want to talk about that right now. This is neither the time nor the place to have such a discussion," Charles said, all but begging in both his voice and his eyes, which Erik lifted his head to meet.

After holding his gaze for a moment, evaluating the request of allowing the conversation to drop temporarily, Erik's scrutiny softened.

"Alright," he gave in. "Then, instead, you need to get some more sleep, Schatz. It's past midnight and you look about ready to pass out again," Erik said seriously. "I was able to speak with Dr. Roache and he wants to keep you for at least another day or two to keep an eye on the recovery. He gave us permission to return to the mansion, as I assured him that we had a perfectly capable doctor there who would be able to keep an eye on your condition," he added to catch Charles up to speed.

"It's not as though we really need his permission but it's always nice to have a professional opinion," Charles joked in an attempt to diffuse the tension a little.

"Rest, Schatz," Erik ordered, placing a kiss to Charles' knuckles, then his forehead, and lastly his chapped lips. "Sleep well."

"You too, love," Charles replied. He realized, as he drifted off into a deep sleep, that he had forgotten to ask about his daughter's condition but decided it could wait until morning. No news was good news, after all.

That assumption you haunt him for years to come.

When morning came around, Charles blinked hard against the violently bright fluorescent lights above him, made nearly blinding by all the stark white that could always be found in hospital rooms. Shifting to the side, he saw Erik fast asleep in the chair again. He idly wondered if this was going to become a regular thing as long as they were here. He should ask a nurse to bring up a cot.

The shift in position, however, alerted him to more than just his worn out boyfriend; he also soon noticed the wet feeling that was coming from under him.

He wondered frantically what it could be for a second before he registered the obvious explanation was: he had wet the bed.

He was absolutely mortified.

Of course, he knew from the books he read that I could sometimes happen to pregnant woman, and men by default, but he hadn't really expected it to be an issue that he would deal with first hand.

The only bed wetting that he expected wasn't supposed to come for a few more months and his only involvement was supposed to be cleaning it up.

Pulling the sheets on the bed up to asses the damage, Charles barely heard the strangled noise that he made over the pounding in his ears. He mindlessly reached down to touch the dark spot with a shaking hand in anxious hesitation.

Pulling his hand back in front of his face, he starred at it, completely horror-struck.

He hadn't been expecting to wet the bed in the middle of the night, that was for sure, but he also hadn't been expecting the result to be a dark red.

"Erik," he gasped out, somehow finding his voice. The metal-bender stirred. "E-Erik!" He was choking out the words in the midst of his panic. "Erik!" He shouted again desperately, his voice reaching levels of hysteria


End file.
